Survival
by BookWorm37
Summary: Add angst to the genre. What if Hammond had let Jolinar go through the Stargate when she asked? SJ in later chapters. This will NEVER be SamMartouf! NEVER! COMPLETE
1. Chapter 1

A/N: WARNING: This is probably way different from almost anything you've ever read concerning this plot bunny. But it's still rather cliche.

* * *

"Letting me go, _trusting_ me is the only way to save your friend, Samantha." 

Daniel was torn between saying what he knew he should and saying what he wanted. Finally, after a few minutes of long silence he said, "I'll try."

"Thank you, Daniel," Jolinar said as she moved to sit back down on the bed.

* * *

"NO!" Jack said when Daniel and Teal'c brought the proposition to General Hammond and Jack. "I will NEVER trust a Goa'uld! We _can't_ trust him!" 

"Colonel!" Hammond shouted, "Stand down!" When Jack had quieted, Hammond turned to Teal'c, "Teal'c? Is there any other way to save Captain Carter?"

"I do not believe so, General Hammond. If you wish to preserve the life of Captain Carter then you must let Jolinar flee from the Ashrak."

Hammond sighed. He didn't want to give up one of his own…but if it saved her life what could he do? "Do it," he nodded to Jack. The Colonel was enraged at the thought of letting a _Goa'uld_ go – possibly with critical knowledge of the Stargate program! But he did as he was told and released the prisoner through the Stargate.

* * *

Jolinar tried to calm Sam down as they gated to one planet after another, finally ending up on the Tok'ra base. _Calm down, Samantha! As soon as I am able to procure a new host – I _will_. You will be returned to your planet as soon as that takes place._

'_So long as that happens _soon_, Jolinar!'_

_Patience, my host. Patience._

They walked a few miles before the group of Tok'ra guards emerged from the sand to surround them. "You are surrounded!" one of them said. "Who are you?"

"I am Jolinar of Malkshur. I have important information to relay to the high council," Sam heard and felt herself say.

"Jolinar?" one of the other men said. He had brown hair cropped close to his head and bright blue eyes. "Is it really you?"

She smiled, "Yes, Martouf, it's really me. But I haven't much time, the Ashrak is probably still after me – and if it's not then the System Lords _will_ send others. Please, I must speak to the high council!"

Martouf hesitated, "Relay your message to me and I will tell the high council. If the Ashrak is still after you, then you need to continue to move."

Jolinar nodded, "Very well, Martouf." She leaned in and quietly told her mate what news she had gained while on her mission. "We have a spy among us."

Martouf's eyes flashed and Lantesh spoke, "Who?"

"Cordesh. He is in the service of Apophis." Jolinar looked around, "I will send you the rest of the information as soon as I am on a safe world." Her hand briefly went to touch Martouf's cheek, "Good-bye, my love."

* * *

Jolinar stepped onto the fifteenth planet, checking it for any possible dangers. When she found none, she sighed, letting herself relax against a tree trunk. Before she could react, however, there was a knife at her throat and a female Jaffa was saying, "Well, well, well. What have we here? A Goa'uld who's stepped out of their domain and into ours." 

Jolinar's eyes flashed, "We are _not_ Goa'uld. We are Tok'ra."

The woman's face came closer as she whispered deadly into Sam's ear, "Prove it."

Sam's eyes flickered to her captor's face, "The name of the symbiote is Jolinar of Malkshur. The host is one of the Tauri, Captain Samantha Carter. Why would we even _pretend_ to be those women?"

The knife vanished as quickly as it had appeared. "Forgive me, Jolinar. We have heard much of your exploits and those of your host."

Jolinar sighed as Sam said in her mind, _What exploits? This is really confusing!_

'_Silence! I will explain all in time.'_

"You bear the sign of Moloc. How do I know you will not kill me as soon as I step on the trail with you?"

The brown haired woman looked down, "I guess you don't. But how do I know that you're really who you said you are? We'll just have to trust each other."

At the camp Jolinar was surprised to see many women and girls of all ages surrounding her. _It's just like the Amazons in Earth mythology_, Sam said in her mind.

'_What were they like?'_

Female warriors. They never let a man enter into the tribe after all their men were killed in a raid. Amazons are the strongest, most honorable group of warriors in Earth history.

One of the watching women came up and addressed Jolinar, "I am Mala."

The scout who had found Jolinar knelt, "Mala, I found this woman near the Chapp'ai. She claims to be Jolinar of Malkshur and her host to be Captain Samantha Carter of the Tauri. I thought Ishta would wish to see them."

Mala nodded, "Good work, Neith. I'll inform Ishta."

A few minutes later Sam/Jolinar were standing in front of a blond haired woman inside a tent. She also bore the mark of Moloc. "Captain Carter, your reputation precedes you. As does yours, Jolinar of Malkshur."

Jolinar bowed her head, "We are honored that you know of us."

Ishta smirked slightly, "I am Ishta, the leader of these Jaffa."

Jolinar bowed her head in respect, "I am Jolinar of Malkshur of the Tok'ra. My host and I are seeking refuge from the System Lords."

Ishta frowned, "It would cost a lot to my people if I were to grant your request. There could be a rebellion." She leaned forward, "Give me one good reason not to kill you now where you sit."

Jolinar could think of none, but Sam could. Slowly, the symbiote relinquished control of the body and for the first time in days Sam could feel her arms finally doing what her mind told them to do.

When she spoke, it was with her own voice, "If you kill us, then you're doing the work of the System Lords. From what Jolinar tells me, you and your women are trying to overthrow your Goa'uld master – not help his brethren."

Ishta's eyes flashed with anger, she rose and quickly was kneeling next to Sam with a knife to her throat, "Moloch is vile, evil and I am ashamed to have his mark on my forehead. How _dare_ you say I would help him!"

Sam turned her head calmly and looked into Ishta's eyes, blue meeting blue, "By killing us, you do help him."

The knife was soon sheathed again, "You speak well, Samantha of the Tauri. Or was that Jolinar of Malkshur who spoke?"

"It was Samantha."

Ishta nodded, "You may seek refuge with us. Teach the young girls some of the ways you have learned to fight. If they learn to fight from three different races – is that not better than just knowing one?"

"Well spoken," Jolinar said. "We will teach all that we know to your young. Samantha is even a scientist, she will help with creating new weapons with which to fight our common enemy along with defenses for this base."

The Jaffa leader nodded, "But for now," she motioned to one of the guards standing by the doorway of her tent, "You must be tired from your travels. Jael will take you to your new tent." To Jael, a young woman with Middle Eastern looks, Ishta said, "Take them to the guest tent next to Neith's. It shall now be known as the tent of Jolinar and Samantha."

* * *

A/N: So? What do you think? I thought it would be cool to see this from a different perspective - like Sam ending up with Ishta and her people. Please review.  



	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Thank you all so much for the wonderful reviews! I'm glad that you all like this so much. Here's the next installment!

* * *

'_Why are you doing this, Jolinar?'_

_We need to blend fully and completely if we are to teach them anything._

'_I thought you were going to get another host!'_

_There is little time for me to do anything. I'm sorry, but I must remain in this body for a while. This may be a little hard for you to comprehend, but I'm beginning to like you, Samantha._

'_You know I prefer Sam.'_

_But Samantha sounds so much more feminine. Now, this may be a lot to take in, but the true blending comes when both minds of symbiote and host share all memories. I'm going to open my mind to you and you need to do the same._

'_Alright.'_

_It's going to be okay, Samantha. I won't hurt you._

'_I know. It's just, I've never had a symbiote before.'_

* * *

Jack stared at the Stargate that Sam had just gone through. He just couldn't believe that they had _let_ her go! 

"Sir?" Walter said from just a few feet away standing next to half of the scientists on base. Jack glanced up at them, barely even acknowledging their presence. "We miss her, too, sir. We'll get her back."

Jack sighed, with a farewell glance at the 'Gate turned to Walter resolutely, "Damn right we will."

* * *

Years passed, and each day Sam grew more able to handle Jolinar being in her body, while Jolinar and Sam taught the Jaffa with them much – learning much in return. 

Jolinar tried to contact the Tok'ra base any number of times, but after her fifth failed attempt just left it up to whatever real god was out there that she would find her people again someday. It was just as easy for her to play a different role there, with the tribe known as Hak'tyl, to fight against Goa'uld tyranny. Every day her heart bled for Lantesh, just as much – if not more – than Sam's heart bled for the one called 'O'Neill'.

There were a few Jaffa women with whom Jolinar and Sam had become close: Ishta, Neith, Mala and one younger Jaffa Sam had taken under her wing named Sarai made up their circle of close friends. They were friendly to all, and all were considered their friend, but those four were the inner circle.

Mala even went as far as to start a long running joke about which man they would choose if given the opportunity. Since Neith lived in the tent right next door, she heard Sam and Jolinar wake up in the middle of the night screaming one of three names: Martouf, Lantesh or Jack. Soon all within the inner circle knew of the reoccurring nightmares that Samantha and Jolinar suffered from and started teasing them about which man they would choose when given the chance.

"Unfortunately, there is not much of a choice," Sam explained one day to Sarai when the young girl asked about the one known as 'Colonel O'Neill'. "You see, I can't go back to my world as long as Jolinar is with me – and neither of us want her to leave. And even if I could, there are rules on my planet that stop that kind of thing from happening."

Sarai scowled, "There are rules on your planet that forbid people to love? I don't think I'd ever want to live there."

Sam smiled at the young girl, "No, not forbidding people to love – forbidding people who work in the same chain of command from being in love. It's only a rule for military."

"Why?"

"So that you're safer when you're in a battle." Sam removed her hand from Sarai's shoulders and motioned with her hands, "If you were in a battle with your lover or husband and had to make a split second decision to let them do their job or keep them safe, and you hesitated…so many lives could be lost."

Sarai thought about if for a minute before nodding, "I _still_ don't like it, though!"

The older woman laughed at the young girl's resoluteness. Jolinar was thinking over the logic of both choices, but before she could comment to Sam about how stupid _she_ thought the rule was, there was a warning bell of invaders.

"Sarai, go back to your tent with the other girls!" Sam looked at her with concern and worry etched into her face. "I'll come get you when it's over."

"You'll come yourself?"

"I promise."

* * *

The skirmish didn't last any longer than ten minutes and resulted in only one injury on the side of the female Jaffa: Samantha and Jolinar were hit by a stray staff blast when they were retreating. It also resulted in one more certainly – the Jaffa group would have to switch planets before the System Lords found out. 

As the camp was in frenzy, preparing to move as quickly as possible, Jolinar tried desperately to save Sam's life while saving her own. The staff blast had hit Sam in the back of the neck – right where Jolinar's prone body was attached to Sam's spine.

Sarai waited impatiently for Sam to come and tell her of the news of the battle. Finally she found Mala and asked her, "Where's Samantha?"

Mala hesitated before responding, "She…she fell in battle today. She's in the infirmary tent where Jolinar is trying her best to save our friend's life."

Tears came to Sarai's eyes but she refused to let them fall, "She's not dead?"

"No."

The young girl nodded her head in response, resolved to doing what she could to help prepare for the move from the camp.

* * *

_Samantha, I'm dying._

'_No! That's impossible, Jolinar! You can save yourself!'_

_Not without the risk of losing you. The staff blast nearly tore my body in half, Samantha. Oh, my host, these last six years with you have been some of the best years of my life. I have to act now to save you. Don't be afraid, in some form I will always be here with you, my dearest Samantha._

'_No! Jolinar, don't leave me!'_

_I never will._

The fallout from losing Jolinar was hard on Sam. It was like she just lost part of herself. Vaguely she realized that must have been how Jack had felt losing Charlie. But then she realized something else: Jack had lost his son who was part of him but lived in a different body; Sam had lost her symbiote who'd shared Sam's body for the past six years of Sam's life. They were not the same.

* * *

A/N: So? What do you think? I know I'm skipping a LOT of time in those six years, but I'll come back to it later, don't worry. Please review!  



	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Thank you all so much for the reviews! They really do help. Here's the next part!

* * *

For the next four months, Sam went through the motions of life among the Jaffa, but the only people she really talked to were Ishta and Sarai. Mostly Sarai, though, because the young girl was able to see the world in such a way that it was hard not to be open with her about who Sam really was. Sarai, luckily, didn't understand half the things Sam spoke about anyway.

One day, Neith came up to Sam and said, "Raiding party today for symbiotes, you want to come?"

It was the first time Sam had been invited along for a raid ever since Jolinar had died, she missed the action. "Sure."

The adrenaline rush was just what Sam needed to stop mourning for the voice in her head that held Jolinar's memories. For the next two months, what she lived and breathed was the work of battle: raids carried out on neighboring Jaffa planets; training the young women to fight hand to hand in a new and different form than the other Jaffa; and honing up her skills with the staff. It was all she could do to stop thinking about her dead half and just survive.

A messenger came running through the camp one day a few months after Sam started her warrior life. She ran all the way to Ishta's tent while Sam and Ishta were in the middle of discussing different strategies for training the young ones.

"Ishta!" the runner cried breathlessly as she sank to her knees. "Samantha of the Tauri!"

Sam looked at the girl oddly: she hadn't been called that since her first months among the camp's life. "What is it, Jael?"

Jael looked up at Ishta with wide eyes, "I have information concerning a group of Tauri known as SG-1. They are about to be ambushed on a nearby planet by the forces of Moloc."

Both of the women jumped up and Ishta shouted orders for a six-woman group to assemble at the Chapp'ai. Sam grabbed Ishta's arm as she tried to move away, "I'm going with them, Ishta."

The blonde haired woman tried to protest, "No! They think you have Jolinar inside of you – what if they try and kill you? What if _he_ tries to kill you?"

Sam thought about it, and even the memories of Jolinar told her to stay at the outpost. Sam sighed and nodded, "Send Emta, then. She's one of our best students."

Ishta nodded, "Very well."

* * *

Colonel Jack O'Neill stepped onto the planet designated as P3X-955 with a sigh. The job just wasn't fun anymore without Carter there nagging him. Sure she'd been gone for six years, but each time he 'gated he always hoped to find her waiting on the other side. 

No one even heard the charging of the staff weapon before the first shot.

Much too soon it was quiet and still. Teal'c looked at O'Neill and without prompting said, "Shel kek nem ron!" into the darkness.

Six female Jaffa soon stood in front of SG-1. Their leader, Mala, spoke with authority, "Tauri warriors, we mean you no harm. Please, come with us."

Neith stepped forward, Mala looked at her and nodded, "Kree."

She walked over to one of the dead Jaffa and took out his symbiote, placing it in a jar she carried with her.

Jack looked disgusted as she did so, "What's she doing?"

Mala turned to him, "There is no time to explain. Moloc may already know we are here. Please, the Chapp'ai may not be accessible very much longer! We must go!"

Soon SG-1, composed of Colonel O'Neill, Teal'c, Daniel Jackson and Major Ferretti, 'gated to the outpost the female Jaffa called Hak'tyl. On the other side of the Stargate, they found a small contingent of women waiting for them.

One of the women astride a horse struck the men of SG-1 as rather familiar. She dismounted and turned to Mala, giving her a light hug before doing the same with Neith, Emta and the other three women.

"I am glad to see a victory for our side," she said to Mala with a smile as she looked at SG-1. "I will walk with you. Neith, ride ahead and inform Ishta and give the symbiote to Sarai. She's past her time as it is."

The woman bowed in respect before mounting the horse the new woman just dismounted and riding away.

Daniel was the first to figure out who she was. "S-Sam?"

She turned around to look at them at the sound of her name. Sam looked at each of them in turn, starting with Jack, then Teal'c, Daniel and Ferretti. "Hi, guys."

* * *

A/N: Sorry that this chapter is so short. It was the only way for me to logically stop this chapter. Please review!  



	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Aww! You guys are so sweet with your reviews! And so quickly, too! Thank you so much. Here's your reward! Twice in one day!

* * *

"So…you've been _here_ all this time?" Ferretti asked as they walked through the forest to the campsite.

Sam smiled and shook her head, "No. This is actually our fourth site. I've been with the Hak'tyl from day one, though." She stopped dead in her tracks, looking at the site that was now in view. She saw one thing she wasn't expecting: there were twin baby girls with the sign of Moloc on them being held by Ishta and Neith. A smile broke out onto her face as she ran the rest of the way, leaving the men of SG-1 no choice but to follow.

"Ishta! When did they arrive?"

The older Jaffa priestess smiled at her Tauri friend, "Samantha. I sent Ka'lel to retrieve them right before you set out to guard the Chapp'ai. Are they not beautiful?"

Sam gently took the baby Ishta held and brought her close. "Indeed, they are. Have they been given names?"

Ishta shook her head, "No. They are the twins you have been looking after for so long, it is your job, now, to name them."

Sam looked lovingly at the child in her arms, "You will be Adah. And your sister, Neith, will name your twin."

Neith looked up at Sam with surprise on her face, "Me? It is not my place, Samantha. Nesa was my blessing, these two are yours."

SG-1 watched in fascination as Sam skillfully told Neith that it must be her choice for the second girl.

Neith looked at her baby sister carefully. "You are the child of my father's sixth wife. Your name will be Hadassah."

"_Beautiful_ names!" Jack said exasperatedly, "Now, please, will you be so kind as to tell us why the hell you're here and why the hell _we're_ here?"

Ishta rolled her eyes at Sam, "Do you remember him to always be this way?"

Sam nodded, "If memory serves me right, he's probably worse. Right, Daniel?"

The archeologist nodded, happy to confirm the belief that Jack O'Neill was a pain to work with. Jack glared at him, but before he could say anything, Mala spoke, "Ginra, Nictal take these two to our sisters and tell Sarai Samantha is home safe. She will be worried."

The two women bowed respectfully, took the two babies from Sam and Neith then moved to the tent where the babies were kept.

Neith looked at the men irritably, "And where, oh great one, shall this meeting take place? Most of the young ones have never seen a man before and they would attract attention in the open."

"My tent will serve," Sam told them boldly, daring any to say something against it.

Soon Sam's tent was full with Ishta, Sam and the four members of SG-1. They were just settling down when the door flap opened again and in ran a little girl about eight years old. She ran straight to Sam and hugged her tight, "Samantha! Ginra just told me that you're back. I'm so happy!"

Sam laughed at how exuberant the girl was when she'd last seen Sam just a few hours before. When Sarai had finally calmed down enough to sit down on Sam's lap quietly, she saw SG-1 for the first time.

The little girl's eyes went wide with fear and wonder, "Who are you?"

O'Neill was the first to answer, "I'm Jack. This is Daniel, Teal'c and Major Ferretti."

Sarai looked at him strangely, "Colonel Jack O'Neill?"

"Yes…" Jack was rather unsure why this little girl knew his name and what Carter had been saying about him in the past seven years.

Sarai soon dissolved into a fit of giggles that prompted Sam's face to turn beet red and Ishta to start to chuckle herself.

Jack looked at Sam expectantly, "Wanna tell me why my name is making them laugh?"

Sam's blush grew deeper, "Not really." She bent down and whispered a few words to Sarai, who immediately left the tent.

"Forgive the interruption," Sam said to the men of SG-1. "Now, Ishta will continue and explain to you all why we have been seeking you out."

Daniel turned to Sam before Ishta could start talking and said, "I'm sorry, but I thought we were going to talk about why _you're_ here, first and not with the Tok'ra."

"Did you arrange contact with them?" Sam asked, now very interested in what the answer was going to be.

"Indeed, Captain Carter," Teal'c said stoically. "They have proven themselves to be most…interesting allies."

"Two-timing bastard Goa'ulds is what you mean, Teal'c," Jack said harshly.

It was all Sam could do to refrain from slapping Jack across the face for his remark. "They are _not_ Goa'uld, Colonel! I had Jolinar inside me for six years, I should know that much at least."

Daniel's head shot up, "_Had_?"

Sam rose to follow Sarai, leaving Ishta to handle the men of the Tauri. The four of which expectantly turned to her waiting for an answer.

"Samantha's symbiote, Jolinar of Malkshur was a very dear friend of everyone at Hak'tyl." Ishta looked down at her hands as she continued, "She fell in battle a year ago, saving Samantha's life by forfeiting her own."

"Then she was a noble warrior," Teal'c said solemnly, feeling the loss his friend must have gone through.

The female Jaffa nodded, "Indeed, that she was. Samantha has keenly felt the loss every single day since then." She looked at the members of SG-1, lingering on each and every one of their faces, "If at any time any of you were her friend, you would help her now by letting her know that you are here." Her eyes found Jack's, "She's missed you very much."

Jack looked away, not wanting to admit that he'd missed her just as much, possibly even more. Ferretti took over the conversation, "So, that woman who led the attack…"

"Mala."

"Yeah, Mala, right. Anyway, she said that you guys have been looking for us for a while. Any particular reason?"

Ishta accepted the change of topic readily, "My people and I have been greatly blessed by Samantha's and Jolinar's knowledge, however our numbers dwindle because many of us fall in battle and we do not have the power to help them. We need supplies, food – weapons. Samantha has taught us all much about the Tauri way of fighting, and I believe that if the Hak'tyl and the Tauri unite it will benefit both sides."

Daniel looked down, then glanced back up at Ishta, "And what would we get in return?"

"Knowledge; spies within the network of one of the most powerful System Lords."

"Moloc?"

"Yes. We have heard much about the exploits of Teal'c and Bra'tac concerning the Jaffa Rebellion, and we wish to join. Not one of the women and children here would be here if it weren't for Moloc's bloody desire to breed an army of Jaffa."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Jack asked, now concerned greatly after seeing those two babies earlier and Sarai a few minutes before.

Ishta looked at them with pain in her eyes, "All of the children we raise here were once marked to be sacrificed to Moloc. All are female."

Without hesitation he asked again, "How much support do you need?"

* * *

A/N: So? What do you all think? Wanna know the story behind Jack's comment about the Tok'ra? Think it has something to do with Martouf or Jacob? Wanna find out for sure? REVIEW!  



	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Thanks for the great support so far with this story! Here's the next chapter for you guys! Aw...my faithful reviewers sighs dreamily, this chapter is dedicated to all of you.

* * *

Sam walked through the ranks of girls practicing with the staff. "Men are always looking at our bodies. They always view us as objects, only fit to sit at home and bear children! It is our _job_ as warriors to rid them of this thinking by using it _against_ them! Use their _weaknesses_ against them." She saw Major Ferretti and Daniel watching her and Mala as they led the girls through the exercises. She stopped right in front of Sarai as she said, "And hold on to your honor."

She walked over to join the two staring men, wondering why they were watching the children practice. "Enjoying the view?"

Daniel was completely lost on the joke, but Ferretti got it right away, "Nope, I thought I'd come check out what you're teaching these girls." At her look, he amended, "Okay, so Jack wanted me to come and find out what you're teaching these girls. Now, if I came for the view, I'd be standing over there watching _those_ two women hand fight."

Sam looked in the direction he indicated. Ka'lel and Emta were fighting together in the ring. She swore and ran over to them, trying to pry Ka'lel off Emta when she saw the blood on Emta's face.

"Ka'lel! Emta! What are you two doing? A fight to the death with no witnesses has no honor in it!" Sam shouted at them when she held them apart with herself in between the two women.

Ka'lel looked in rage at Emta and spat at her feet, "Hat'aka."

Emta lunged at the other woman, screaming, "_Kek_!"

"Kree! Jaffa!" a shout from the distance was heard. Both of the battling women stopped their movements as Ishta stepped forward, flanked by Jack and Teal'c.

Ishta stopped when she was level with Sam, "What is the meaning of this?"

Emta lowered her head in humility while Ka'lel, still raging mad, looked Ishta right in the eye and said, "She insulted my honor by saying I would seduce one of the Tauri."

"Emta? Kree!"

Emta kept her eyes looking past Ishta and Sam both, straight at Teal'c and Jack, "She first accused me of using my position as Samantha's student and friend to gain access to information from the Tauri males, for Moloc."

Sam looked at the women in disgust. "Are these men nothing more to either of you than means to gain information and procreate?" At their silence she turned away, speaking to Ishta, "I refuse to remain in the presence of such…hostility toward my first people. If a treaty can be brokered between the Tauri and the Hak'tyl, so be it."

"My sister," Ishta spoke quietly and firmly, "A treaty has already been reached on our side. All that remains is for a few of us to accompany them to Earth to finalize this treaty." Sam turned around and blue eyes found blue eyes, "We were hoping you would be one of those diplomats, Samantha."

Sam bowed her head in respect to Ishta, then again to Teal'c, "I am honored by your favor and your remembrance of my former life."

Ferretti looked at Daniel and Teal'c, "What's that mean?"

Ishta smiled indulgently at the Major, "It means, Major Ferretti, that she's going back to Earth with you tomorrow."

Neith came up beside them, having witnessed the conversation and the fight, "Ishta, I must return to Moloc's home world. What shall be done with these two?"

The leader glanced down at the two women, still kneeling in the dirt. "Both acted unwisely and cruel to these men; placing upon them beliefs and accusations that should never have been said. The charge of Emta being a spy for Moloc will have to be looked into. But for now, their immediate future rests in the hands of our _Tauri brothers_."

The title was said with firm sincerity, and shocked most of the women who had gathered in to listen when they saw the scene unfolding. Few hated the men with a passion, remembering only the men of the Jaffa villages that had been cruel and bloodthirsty.

Daniel and Ferretti both looked to Jack. He looked at them both, looked behind him. "What?" he finally asked, not knowing the reason for their stares.

The archeologist rolled his eyes at him, "It's up to us to punish them. A.K.A. it's up to _you_, Jack."

"Oh." Realization dawned on him that he would now have to punish these two women and he knew nothing of their system of punishment, "Teal'c?"

"A proper punishment for this occasion has already been delivered – a battle between the two warriors. The first Jaffa to draw blood is the victor…"

"Yeah, I think I got it," Jack said, knowing where the big man was going. He turned his attention back to Ishta, "I think we're just gonna let them go with a warning. We're around for a lot more than just procreation and information."

Sam smiled faintly at his failed attempt at humor. She's almost forgotten how much he could make her smile with his lame jokes.

"Ishta, I believe Mala, Nictal and myself will serve as delegation enough for the treaty negotiations. You are more valuable to us here and soon you must return to your priestess duties before Moloc becomes suspicious." Sam caught Jack's eye and motioned with her own to Teal'c.

"Oh, yeah. T, I want you to stay here, too. Learn all you can of their…womanly ways of fighting and find out how they kept Carter here so long." Sam winced at the use of her last name that she hadn't even heard in so many years.

Neith scowled at the title, firmly gripping her staff weapon, "What right do you have to call Samantha such a name?"

Jack warily looked at the suddenly hostile women around him, "It was meant in respect only, believe me."

"Neith." Sam's steady voice was enough to dispel the anger toward the word. "It is what he was used to calling me before Jolinar. Take no offence to it. It is my last name."

"But you are Samantha of the Tauri and the Hak'tyl, not Samantha of the Carter," one of the women standing by, watching said plainly.

Jack smirked at the misinterpretation of the last name while Sam explained it to them. "When I first arrived, you knew me as Captain Carter, right? My name then was Samantha Carter. Now it is Samantha of the Hak'tyl, a name I bear proudly."

SG-1 watched Sam calm the nerves of the women with love and respect. She really was a different person than she was seven years before. Or perhaps, not so different than they would believe…

* * *

A/N: So? What do you guys think? Don't worry, we see some...lovely interaction cough compromising possision cough ahem, between Sam and Jack in the next chapter. Please review!  



	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Thanks so much for the reviews! I'm so happy with the response I've been getting for this story! Keep it up. Here's your Sam/Jack chapter!

* * *

Sam was afraid, there was no other way to put it. She felt so trapped in her body that even her scream for help was of no use. Her voice was not her own. 

There was someone else in control of her own body, not letting her speak to the people who came to visit her. It seemed so strange to have the man she cared so much about just walk away from her as if she wasn't even real. "Jack!" she screamed out his name, surprised that the sound of his name issued from her own mouth.

Seconds later she was being forced awake, "Carter? Carter? Wake up!"

"She hasn't responded to that name in many years, O'Neill. Perhaps you should try calling her Samantha."

He sighed, "Sam?"

Instantly her eyes were open and she was awake, looking up into Jack's worried eyes. She looked past him as she breathed deeply, trying to calm her erratic heartbeat. She saw Mala standing a few feet back, looking worriedly at her friend.

"I'm fine, Mala. You can go back to your tent." Mala bowed her head and left as quickly as she had arrived after getting Jack from his tent a few yards away.

Jack looked at her again as Sam slumped back onto her bed, tears coming to her eyes. "You okay?" he asked finally, after a long silence.

Sam smirked through the tears, "Just peachy."

Jack smirked, "You're a bad liar, Sam."

"I learned from the best."

Jack sat down more comfortably and looked at Sam long and hard, "You wanna talk about it?"

"Not really."

"Okay," Jack rose to go, but Sam's hand stopped him.

"You heard me, didn't you?"

"Yeah," Jack's eyes continued to study a piece of the cloth tent that surrounded them.

"And you came." It was a statement of fact, not a question.

"Yeah."

"Stay?"

Jack's eyes now sought out Sam's, "Are you sure?"

Sam nodded, "Yeah."

Jack sat down again, leaning up against Sam's carved wooden chest that held all of her belongings. "What's up?"

Sam shook her head, adjusting so she was leaning her head on Jack's shoulder. She needed his touch now more than ever. "I don't really know. I keep on having these nightmares about different things from my past, Jolinar's past…"

"Me?"

"Yeah." Sam's eyes found his, seeking reassurance that she wasn't crazy. She found understanding where she thought to find pity. "I've missed you."

Jack leaned closer, "I've missed you, too."

Their lips touched tentatively in a kiss that was more to prove that they weren't hallucinating than anything else.

* * *

"So, what's been going on the past six and a half years up at the SGC?" Sam asked Jack and Daniel as Ferretti and Mala spoke of different things up ahead. 

Jack shrugged, "Nothin' much. Faced utter destruction a couple times, took out a few System Lords, this and that. What about you? Your hair seems cut to a very non-regulation length."

Sam blushed, fingering her hair that now brushed half way down her back. It was almost as wild as Ishta's but much more curly. "Not much. It's a much more simple life here; about ninety percent of what we do is to protect the children and take care of them. There's not really much to say."

Daniel, sensing the unease both had with the conversation, took control and spent the next two clicks until they reached the Stargate filling Sam in on all their new allies. When he started talking about the Tok'ra, Sam grew agitated and even more withdrawn than she had been before.

Jack was about to ask her about it, but by this time they had reached the Stargate and Ferretti had started to dial. "You informed General Hammond of our arrival yesterday, didn't you?" Sam asked Jack.

"Yeah, he said for all of you to come on through."

Sam hesitated as Ferretti and Daniel walked through, followed by Mala and Nictal. Her eyes searched Jack's for reassurance. When he had come into her tent the previous night at two in the morning, they had ended up spending the rest of the dark hours before dawn talking about anything and everything and nothing.

"Did you tell him about me?" she finally asked timidly.

Jack shook his head, "No. I didn't want to tell him without your permission. But if we don't hurry, the others might tell him for us."

With that Sam walked up to the Stargate, closed her eyes and stepped through. Excitement she hadn't felt in years washed through her body as she felt it being taken apart, molecule by molecule in the wormhole. She was going _home_.

Jack watched Sam step through with a smirk on his face. Man, he'd missed that woman. Briefly he thought about their kiss from the night before: it had opened the door to a very long conversation about their feelings. It seemed strange to Jack that that was the first time in years he had openly talked about his feelings without feeling forced in any way. They'd talked for hours, and sometimes just held each other in silence. The kiss was enough of a reminder for both of them…for the moment.

* * *

A/N: Okay, I know this was short, but it's to keep your minds on the prize - Sam and Jack together. I'm by no means going to make it easy for them, but they WILL end up together. Don't worry about that. Please review!  



	7. Chapter 7

A/N: FINALLY! She's home at the SGC! Or is she? Mwahahaha! Thanks for the reviews, they're awesome...but I do wish more of the people who have this on alert would tell me what they think every now and again! (hint, hint)

* * *

The Stargate began to activate as General Hammond walked down the stairs to the control room. "Who is it, Walter?" 

"It's SG-1's IDC, sir. They have the Jaffa delegation with them, sir."

"Open the iris."

There was no real surprise when the first four people stepped out of the wormhole, but when the last two stepped onto the ramp, shock ran throughout the whole of the rooms watching. "Colonel O'Neill! Explain yourself!"

Jack looked at Hammond and then back to Sam. Her face showed none of her trepidation, but even after six and a half years apart, Jack could still read her like a book. "We found Carter, sir," he finally yelled back up to Hammond.

"Briefing room, now!" the General ordered, not really knowing what else to say. They didn't train you for things like this in the Academy.

After the group had disappeared into the briefing room, the 'gate technicians were still in shock. Finally, Walter broke the silence with a large grin as he turned to his co-workers and said, "She's _ba_-_ack_!"

Just then the head scientist of the SGC walked into the room, "Who's back?"

Walter looked back at his computer, pretending to do something important. The other techs did the same. "Someone tell me, please?"

A spark went off somewhere close to the computers. "Ut oh," the technician working in the area said.

"What is it?" the head tech asked agitatedly.

"Dr. McKay, I think it's that thing that started last week."

Rodney McKay swore and went over to try and fix it while one of the other techs ran up the stairs to the briefing room stairs telling Walter, "I'll just go see if _she_ can help us."

Siler burst through the doors leading to the briefing room. Hammond glared at him, "Sgt. Siler, this is a closed briefing."

"Sorry, sir. But one of the computers is…malfunctioning. We thought that Captain Carter might be able to help us."

"Isn't Dr. McKay down there?" Jack asked, confused.

"Yes, sir, but he was the one that _started_ the problem."

Sam got up from her seat, "Hey, Siler. I'll see what I can do. Mala, Nictal, stay with our gracious hosts and continue the briefing. I'll be back shortly."

Sam raced Siler back down the stairs to see what this McKay fellow had done to her computer system.

"Out of the way!" she ordered as she came close to inspect the problem. It just seemed so natural for her to acclimate into the role she held nearly seven years before. "What happened?"

"It keeps on…sparking. I can't fix it." McKay finally admitted when he realized how hot this woman was.

"Hmm. That would probably because you have this interface jerry-rigged to fit all wrong. Oh, and this is the wrong piece. Hmm. Yep. Okay, I can fix this within half an hour if you move and stand right over there where you can't possibly get in the way," Sam told Dr. McKay, pointing to the stairs.

Rodney walked back to the stairs looking like a puppy that just had his favorite toy taken away. All other productive activity stopped as the technicians watched Samantha Carter, genius extraordinaire, fix the problem in exactly fifteen minutes.

"Who messed with my system to design this piece of junk?" Sam asked as she wiped her face on the cloth one of the numerous adoring techs held out for her.

Rodney was indignant, "That would be me."

Sam looked him over before looking at the computers. "It'll take me at least two days to fix all the problems you have here. This entire system is outdated and ready to just go caput at any second."

She turned to walk back up to the briefing room, her leather dress hugging her in just the right places and swaying just right to make all the technicians (most of whom were happily married) drool in desire. She stopped by Rodney and patted his arm, "You're so lucky that I'm here now."

Back in the briefing room Sam found Jack retelling the story of the ambush that eventually led SG-1 to finding Carter. Nictal and Mala still winced slightly every time they heard the name, but they were getting used to it.

"Call me Samantha." Sam walked over to her seat next to her two sisters of the Hak'tyl. "Or Sam. I haven't been called Carter in years – and I haven't been in the military in years, either."

Jack looked at her oddly, but complied, "Okay, _Samantha_. Anyway, General, that's when _Samantha_ here offered us the use of her tent for the talks that Isha wanted to take place."

"Ish_ta_," Mala, Nictal and Sam all said at the same time.

Jack looked at them confused and amused at the same time, "What did I say?"

"Isha," Daniel supplied. "It means 'wife' in Hebrew."

"Oh," Jack looked down. "Sorry. Ish_ta_ wanted the talks to take place. Then there was a big debate about the Tok'ra…then Car-_Sam_ left and Ishta told us what the treaty was that they wanted."

"What is it, exactly that you ladies need?" General Hammond addressed the question to the three representatives of the Hak'tyl.

"Supplies – food, weapons and medical stuff. Mostly food and weapons," Daniel replied.

Hammond looked at the three women, "What is it, exactly you offer in return?"

Mala was the one who answered, "We have an extensive network of spies, and a great deal of information about the System Lords and how they operate that we'd be willing to share with you. Not to mention, we have Samantha. Her knowledge from Jolinar and her own studies have proved invaluable on numerous occasions. Did she not just fix your computer system for you?"

"I'll see what I can do," Hammond said as he got up from his chair. "Report to the infirmary. Colonel, have guest quarters set up for our three visitors."

The military men rose from their seats, shortly after they were followed by the three women. "Yes, sir," Jack said as Hammond walked back into his office.

Ferretti grinned at Sam, "Just wait until ol' Doc Fraiser sees you!"

Sam groaned, "Does she still have those needles?"

* * *

A/N: Please review! What do you guys think? I just HAD to add in the bit about McKay and the computers (remember when he told Sam in the show that it was a miracle that they computers even functioned?)! I hope you liked it!  



	8. Chapter 8

A/N: You guys are AWESOME! This chapter is dedicated to all of you who reviewed the last one! ...but I'm too lazy to write out all seventeen handles! Oh well, you know who you are!

* * *

"SAMANTHA CARTER! Eek!" the little doctor rammed into her old friend with a hug, propelling her back onto the bed she was standing in front of. "Oh my! I can't believe it's really you! You're back! You're here! Oh my God!"

Sam stared in concern and fright at the other woman, patting her head reassuringly she said, "Yeah. I'm back. C-could you please let go of me now?"

Janet's chagrin was very evident as she untangled herself from Sam. "Umm, sorry. So? You guys here for your physicals?"

Jack grinned, thrilled that he wouldn't be the only one subjected to Janet's needles.

Sam smiled slightly at Janet, remembering how she operated. It was strange at first for Sam to accept, but with Jolinar in her body, her memory was a lot longer and she was better able to recall different events from years before. Even…without Jolinar the effect remained acute.

Deciding to play a little joke, Sam told Janet, "Yeah, we're here for our physicals, but I think it would reassure myself, Nictal and Mala if Colonel O'Neill had his first."

Mala and Nictal shared a look with Sam, who responded with a slight smirk, letting them know that it was just a silly prank and there was nothing wrong with getting a physical at the hands of Janet.

Jack's smile disappeared as Janet checked a list on the wall, "All right Colonel, it's Nurse Diamond's turn to give you a post-mission physical. Diamond!" A few moments later, a bulky looking man dressed in the white garb of a nurse stepped forward. "You're turn."

With a wince, the nurse led his subject to one of the beds and pulled the curtain tight to insure that none of his female colleagues decided to check out the colonel's body while he lay prone to needles.

Sam looked at her old friends strangely, "You have a rotation?"

Daniel and Janet shrugged, and it was Ferretti who answered, "Yeah, ever since you left Jack's become a major pain in the ass. Especially with physicals."

"Hey! I heard that, Ferretti! You're still on duty for the next three hours! Ow! That hurt, Diamond! Ow! No! Don't touch me with tha…"

Sam bent her head to hide the smile that grew into a full-fledged grin on her face at the sounds of Jack complaining like that. It felt good to hear it again.

Mala noticed her friend's reaction and again wondered if Samantha had told her everything about her relationship with the man behind the curtain before Samantha had blended with Jolinar. "If you wouldn't mind, Dr. Fraiser," Mala began, still keeping her eyes on Samantha's face, "Nictal and myself are quite anxious to see more of the Tauri culture as soon as possible. Will you please proceed with the…physicals as they have been referred to thus far?"

Janet was impressed with the woman's fine choice of words. "Very well, Mala. If you'll just step this way, I'll conduct your physical myself."

Less than forty-five minutes later, all the physicals were complete and the group was once again traveling the halls of the SGC, this time with the destination of the VIP rooms Mala, Nictal and Samantha had been given during their stay.

"What happened to my house?" Sam asked Daniel as they walked.

"Umm," Daniel was rather hesitant to tell her the…interesting fate her house had succumbed to. "It's…well…you see, the thing is…"

"We've been renting it out," Jack called back finally, amused and frustrated by Daniel's clear inability to just _tell_ Sam what happened to her house.

Sam stopped dead in her tracks, turning on the two men, "You've been renting out _my_ house for the past _seven years_? Where's the money gone? What did you do with all my stuff – give it away? Have a bon fire?"

Jack held up his hands in defeat as Daniel reassured Sam, "Don't worry, all your stuff is in storage and the money is in your bank account. The only thing we take out of it was enough to pay for the storage. Don't worry, the people renting it work at the SGC."

Sam backed down, "Who's renting it?"

"General Hammond's renting it to let VIP's who want to get a better idea of Earth culture," Jack said. "No one's in it right now."

Sam tilted her head. "What about my car and motorcycle?"

"Can we continue walking please?" Jack asked. "You're motorcycle and car are safe in my garage. I've been keeping them well looked after since you left."

"And my cat?"

"Uhhh…"

"The cat's living with your brother."

The group was now standing in front of one of the bigger VIP rooms that the SGC had. Sam turned to Daniel as Jack unlocked the door and opened it, "You couldn't figure out his name, could you?"

Daniel looked down at his shoes, shamefaced, "No."

"It's Schrödinger."

"Like the scientist?" Jack asked.

Sam frowned at him, "Yeah. I thought you hated scientists?"

He shrugged, moving to allow the three women to enter, "I do. But hang around McKay, Daniel and Johnson enough and you end up picking _something_ up."

Sam's face went white, "_Kerri_ Johnson?"

"Yeah."

Sam's anger wasn't visible to the two men still in the room with the women, but to Mala's and Nictal's trained eyes, she was livid. Mala took matters into her own hands, "Colonel, Doctor, the past few hours have been rather trying on all of us. Will you kindly allow us to recuperate for a few hours?"

"Sure," Daniel said, following Jack outside of the room.

When they were gone, Mala and Nictal turned to Sam. "Samantha, what is it?" Nictal asked, concern evident in her voice and face.

Sam moved over to the bed and sat down, "Kerri Johnson was a friend of mine in the Academy – the school I went to learn to be a soldier. I only found out half way through our last year together that she was taking ideas I casually submitted to her and using them as her own theories." Sam's smile grew bitter, "When I was writing my last paper for our physics class, the final assignment, Kerri and I were sharing an apartment and I left it on my desk one day while I went out on a date with my boyfriend. I came back and it was gone. Later I found out that Kerri had taken my paper, completed the conclusion and handed it in as her own. I had twelve hours until the class started and I had to hand in a paper I no longer had…"

"What did you do?" Nictal asked, intrigued with the story.

Sam smiled sad, and justified in her anger, "I spent ten of those hours rewriting my paper. The other two I spent sleeping on _top_ of my paper."

Mala gave Sam a small hug, "I am deeply sorry, Samantha."

Sam smirked, shaking her head, "It's not your fault. It's hers, and hers alone. Come on, I know neither of you had very much for breakfast this morning. How about I show you the commissary so I can start introducing you to Earth foods?"

Nictal smiled, "That sounds marvelous."

* * *

A/N: I just had to make Kerri a scientist! It makes for great tension between Sam, Kerri and Jack stuck right in the middle. Get ready for a show down between the two women in a few chapters! Cat fight alert! Please review, you know you wanna.  



	9. Chapter 9

A/N: Thank you all so much for the constant support and reviews! Here's your reward!

* * *

"This is nothing like the food among the Hak'tyl!" Nictal cried in joy as she sank her teeth into another bite of chocolate cake. "There's so much more flavor…it's delicious." 

"This is quite enjoyable food, Samantha," Mala said sedately, biting into another piece of what looked to be lemon chicken…perhaps it really _was_ lemon chicken.

Sam grinned at their enthusiasm. She was catching up on her blue Jell-O intake (since she hadn't had any in so long) by eating four goblets, it was heaven.

"Believe me, we can do much better," a voice said from behind Sam's shoulder.

She turned and Jack O'Neill was standing there, with Ferretti and Daniel flanking him. "Hello, guys. Wanna join us?"

Ferretti shook his head, "Nah, we were actually just about to head out for some dinner. Wanna come?"

"Where are you guys going?"

"O'Malley's," Ferretti replied enticingly.

Sam was about to say 'yes' but she turned to look at her two Jaffa companions. "The invitation was for all three of you," Jack said, noting her hesitancy.

Mala looked at Sam, gauging how much she wanted to go. "I would greatly like to see more of the Tauri culture, Samantha," Nictal said, giving her opinion but still leaving it up to Sam.

Sam looked down at her dress – rather revealing and not exactly what she'd qualify as appropriate for going out on this particular night. Turning back to Jack, she asked, "Okay, what did you guys do with all my clothes?"

* * *

Sam found that after six and a half years, she was rather uncomfortable in the pants they still had of hers locked up in one of the storage rooms deep within the mountain. Looking through her musty clothes she made an executive decision. 

She turned to Jack, asking, "Feel like taking us shopping?"

Jack looked up and down Sam's body, then motioned to Mala and Nictal, "Dressed like _that_? In this town? I don't _think_ so."

Sam put her hands on her hips in a very intimidating stance, "Either you take us shopping for clothes – which will be purchased using that money you guys are getting from renting out _my_ house – or we're going to dinner dressed like this."

"Come on, my truck's too small, we'll just Teal'c's car."

"What kind of car does Teal'c have?"

"A kick-ass SUV."

"Sweet."

A short time later Sam, Nictal and Mala were sitting in the back of the SUV while Jack drove to the store with Ferretti sitting passenger to keep Jack company on the trip.

"Jack! Pull in here!" Sam called from the back seat when Jack was about to go past her favorite boutique.

Jack pulled in and offered Sam a credit card, "Here, Ferretti and I will just wait in the car until you guys are done."

Sam looked at the card he was holding out to her and then back up at his face, "I haven't been on Earth in nearly seven _years_ and you expect me to remember how to use a _credit_ _card_?"

Jack sighed and put it back in his wallet, "Come on, Lou. You get to keep me company."

Lou Ferretti grimaced as he unbuckled his seat belt and got out of the car, "Oh, joy."

Luckily for both men, all three women found a few outfits that were suitable within half an hour. The dress Sam chose to wear for that evening's events was dark brown cashmere and fell to right above her knees. The neck plunged slightly, revealing just a hint of her ample chest. It completely covered her back, giving her the comfort of knowing that the scars she had accumulated over the years were invisible to the naked eye and the dress still hugged her figure just right.

Mala chose an outfit consisting of an off-white skirt that showed off her slender legs and a forest green top that covered her rather well, while at the same time showing off her firm figure.

Nictal's outfit was a little more revealing than either of her sisters'. Her halter-top was red, with a neckline that plunged very low to show off her tan, while the back was non-existent. She chose a skirt designed to hug her hips and leave very little to the imagination, even though it covered all of her legs down to her ankles.

When the three women emerged from the dressing rooms, Jack and Lou could feel their little soldiers trying to stand at attention, but both men tried desperately to get them to stand down. For Jack thinking of Teal'c in a tutu did the trick. For Ferretti it was thinking of Jack naked.

* * *

General Hammond finally finished all of his paperwork and with a sigh he put the last folder into the 'out' box. Rising from his chair he stretched and went to the control room. There was still something else he had to handle before he could go home. 

"Sergeant, dial the Tok'ra."

"Yes, sir," Walter said, already starting the dialing procedure.

A short time later Hammond sent out an audio to the Tok'ra to have Jacob Carter come through the Stargate to Earth as soon as possible.

"Now what, sir?" Walter asked, needing to know what to expect.

Hammond glanced at him before turning back to the 'Gate, "Now we wait."

* * *

A/N: Sorry this chapter isn't longer, but this was the most logical place for me to cut it. Please review!  



	10. Chapter 10

A/N: Two things: One, what was wrong with the last chapter? I only got half the reviews I normally get. Two, thank you to those of you who DID review: **mery0742000**, **mishy-mo**, **liketoread**, **scottiedog**, **Darth Tater** and **The Lady Reaper of the Shadows**. This is for you guys!

* * *

Dinner was a pleasant affair for all involved. It was good for Nictal (who had grown up among the Hak'tyl) to get used to the presence of men while Mala subtlety flirted with Lou and Jack and Sam got back in step with their old dance.

That is, dinner _was_ pleasant until an unexpected visitor arrived.

"Jack?" an overly sweet feminine voice asked.

Jack's eyes looked at Ferretti wide with terror, causing Sam to look around for the cause of the distress. When he turned around, Jack's face was sporting a small smile, "Kerri."

"Hey, babe, whacha doing here?" Kerri gave him a peck on the cheek.

"Oh, just here with some friends. Hey, look, Carter's back."

Sam's face was impassive, "Karolyn."

Kerri's face was outright hostile, "Samantha."

Sam's eyes reverted to Jack, "Colonel, if you don't mind it's getting late, I'd like to get back to the base and sleep – my body's still adjusting to the time difference."

Jack couldn't for the life of him see what was wrong, "Sure. Sorry to cut this short, Kerri. But I happen to be the ride for these three ladies. Got to go."

Kerri pouted prettily, "Okay. It was nice to see you again, Samantha, Louis." With that Kerri pulled Jack into a standing position and kissed his socks off (figuratively). "Bye."

"Bye," Jack said, letting go of Kerri as quickly as he dared, still not knowing what was going on but knowing enough to know not to get involved.

Sam was the last one to leave, "I'll just be right out, I have to use the restroom before we leave." Jack nodded while Mala and Nictal both spotted the glint for revenge in Sam's eyes that usually only appeared right before a battle.

Sam walked back into the restaurant and made a beeline for the lady's room. Her eye caught Kerri's before she went through the door – the other woman would soon follow.

Sam was washing her hands when Kerri finally appeared, fury written all over her face. "What the _hell_ are you doing here, Sam?"

Sam looked back at her, appearing impassive, "I could as you the same question, Kerri. Last_ I_ heard you were applying for the CIA after you got kicked out of the Academy."

Kerri nearly punched Sam right then and there, "I wouldn't have gotten caught if you hadn't said anything."

"It was _my_ paper! I had to re-write it completely from scratch in less than ten hours when that one took me five _weeks_ to write! What did you expect Professor Monroe to do – just let you get away with something that had my ideas all over it along with my writing style? My God, Kerri, that was stupid!"

Kerri came inches away from Sam, "Stay away from Jack. He's mine. And don't get any ideas about coming back to the SGC – _that's_ mine, too."

Sam's eyes were cold while inside she was hot with fury, "We'll see about that."

She walked away, out the door and into the waiting SUV that would carry her back to the SGC and the safety of company with Mala and Nictal.

In the car, the silence was stifling. "Turn on the radio, please, Lou?" Sam asked a few minutes into it.

"Sure, Sam." He did and they found the station on oldies.

Lou was about to switch it when Sam stopped him, "No, wait, I like this song."

_You keep saying you've got something for me.  
Something you call love, but confess.  
You've been messin' where you shouldn't have been a messin'  
and now someone else is gettin' all your best._

_These boots are made for walking, and that's just what they'll do  
one of these days these boots are gonna walk all over you._

As _'These Boots Were Made For Walking'_ filled the car with music, Jack and Sam both listened intently to the words. Jack's mind started filling with thoughts about how Kerri or Sam was going to get back at him for not telling him about the other. Sam's kept on filling with how she was going to get rid of Kerri without it being evident to everyone.

Needless to say, as soon as the car stopped at the SGC, all five occupants jumped out and nearly ran into the complex.

* * *

"Sam?" Jack asked as he knocked on the door of her on-base quarters the next day. 

Sam looked up from the notebook she was reading. "Yeah?"

Jack motioned to the hallway, "General Hammond wants to see you." Sam looked at the other two women in the room with her. "Just you. This isn't about the alliance."

"Oh." Sam looked at Mala and Nictal, "I'll be back in a little bit."

Mala nodded, "Very well. We shall be fine here, Samantha."

Sam bowed her head in respect to them before following Jack out of the room toward the General's office.

"Ah, Colonel, Samantha, just the people I needed to see," Hammond said as Sam entered his office behind Jack.

Sam smiled slightly, "Something I can help you with, General?"

"Actually, yes…it appears Dr. McKay had a nervous breakdown last night."

"You mean he's quacked, sir? Three fries short of a happy meal?" Jack asked, raising his eyebrows in surprise and a little bit of glee at the prospect of no more McKay.

"Yes, Colonel, that's exactly what I mean."

Sam was still confused, "What do you want _me_ to do about it?"

"The Joint Chiefs and the President want you to stay on Earth after the alliance is brokered between the Hak'tyl and the Tauri," Hammond explained as best he could.

Her brow furrowed as she thought about what he was asking her to do. "I'm gonna need to think about that."

The klaxons blared, "**Unscheduled off world activation**!"

Hammond shared a brief look with Jack and Sam before running out of his office to see who was knocking at the door.

* * *

A/N: Wanna find out who it is? You know the drill. Right now I feel like a spurned lover - and I don't write when I feel like a spurned lover.  



	11. Chapter 11

A/N: Thank you all SO MUCH! Those reviews were awesome! I wasn't really surprised when you all guessed who was coming throug the 'gate!

* * *

"What'd we got, Walter?" Jack asked as the three people entered the control room.

"It's the Tok'ra IDC, sir."

Sam's eyes went wide, "You gave the Tok'ra an IDC?"

Hammond looked at her with clear eyes, "You've been gone a long time, Sam. Open the iris, Walter."

A few seconds later, Sam was more than shocked to see three Tok'ra she knew rather well step out of worm hole. Her eyes went wide in shock as Jack and Hammond walked down the stairs to greet them in the 'Gate room. Walter and the other 'Gate techs watched as Sam debated following her ex-CO's from the room or standing like a deer caught in the headlights.

It was one of the Tok'ra who decided her. Jack whispered something into the man's ear and soon his eyes were drawn up to the control room, going wide with shock as they traveled. He mouthed something as he started running out of the room toward where Sam was standing.

Sedately, belittling the shock she was in, Sam walked back up to the briefing room to sit and wait for the Tok'ra and Tauri to arrive.

The door to the briefing room opened a few moments later and the four men and one woman walked in. "Sammie?" one of the Tok'ra hosts asked.

Sam got up from her chair slowly and turned to face the three of them, feeling the presence of symbiotes in all. "Dad." He rushed over to her and gave her a bone-crushing hug. After a moment of hesitation, Sam's arms traveled around her father's body to embrace him as well.

"Holy Hannah!" Jacob said as he began to realize the difference between Sam's naquadah and the naquadah in the other Tok'ra, "What happened to Jolinar?"

Sam stepped back, looking at all three of the Tok'ra then turning again to her father, "She…died about six months ago."

All three of the Tok'ra had their eyes flashed as the symbiotes took over the bodies. Lantesh was the most distraught.

He strode forward and grabbed Sam's shoulders, shaking her angrily as he said, "And what did you do to help her? She sacrificed her life saving you and what did you do to deserve it?"

Jack and Jacob were immediately at her side. "Hey, hey! Let go! It's not her fault!" Jack yelled as Jacob tore Martouf and Lantesh away from his daughter.

Tears came to Sam's eyes as the memories of Jolinar brought up all the good, sweet times Lantesh and Martouf had touched her body. "I-I'm sorry, Lantesh. But it was _her_ choice to die so that I could live. Would you rather _both_ of us had died? Is that what _she_ would have wanted?"

Martouf took control of the body again, bowing his head in shame, "Forgive Lantesh, please. This news hit him hard." And with that, the broken man ran from the room to grieve the lose of a love he'd had for centuries.

Sam felt her knees go weak as she watched Jolinar's lovers flee from the room. Jack helped her move into a chair as the reality of everything sunk in. She felt tears come to her eyes, but she refused to let them fall. _Carter's don't cry_, she told herself firmly.

The female Tok'ra took the silence in the room as an opportunity to speak, "The loss of Jolinar will be deeply felt among the Tok'ra ranks. Our thanks to you for letting at least some of her survive."

Sam's teary eyes looked up at the woman who was dressed rather…provocatively. "What's the name of the symbiote? I don't remember your host."

She bowed her head, "I am Anise. My host died a few years ago and now Freya accommodates my needs."

Sam nodded; she remembered Anise and her previous host, Malaya, very well thanks to Jolinar's memories. Next she turned to her father, "Dad? When were you blended?"

"Your father and I were blended about five years ago," the symbiote said. "It pains me greatly that my dear friend, Jolinar of Malkshur, is dead."

"And who are you?" Sam asked, a little frightened that her father had been blended when she wasn't there.

"I am Selmak."

She couldn't help it. With all this new information bombarding her system, and the renewed feeling of loss at Martouf and Lantesh's treatment of her, Sam just couldn't take it anymore. She fainted.

* * *

When Sam came to, she was lying on a bed in the infirmary with Jack, Jacob, Hammond and the other Tok'ra, Hak'tyl and Daniel and Janet, all watching and waiting for her to wake up. 

Janet glared at Sam in that disapproving way she had mastered years before. Jacob was just glad to have her back in the land of the conscious.

"You really scared all of us there, Sammie," Jacob said with a sly grin. "Even Jack was beside himself with you fainting."

Sam glanced at the older man and saw him look away, embarrassed. She turned to her Hak'tyl companions and said, "We must return to Hak'tyl at once. There is much I need to discuss with Ishta."

Mala bowed in acceptance, but the look in Nictal's eyes showed she wanted to defy Sam's order/request. "If you wish to return to the Tauri soon, we must leave soon, Nictal. There is much we have to discuss with Ishta."

Sam sat up on the bed, turning to General Hammond and her father she said, "We will return in a few days, but first I need to ponder your request, General Hammond."

"Take all the time you need, Sam," Hammond said. He noticed the look Sam and Jacob were sharing and quietly cleared the room.

Sam smiled hesitantly, "We haven't seen each other in over seven years, Dad. What's three more days?"

Jacob gave his daughter a heart-felt hug, whispering, "Oh, Sammie. I love you so much. I hope you never forget that. Selmak loves you, too."

Sam felt tears come to her eyes that she didn't want to shed: Selmak and Jolinar had been close friends before Jolinar's last mission with the Tok'ra. "I love both of you, too."

"Come back soon, Sammie."

"I will, Dad."

* * *

A/N: So? What think you all? Please review!  



	12. Chapter 12

A/N: Thank you all so much for your encouraging reviews! All will be explained in time, and I hope you all like this chapter - even if it is a little shorter than normal.

* * *

"Samantha, I do not understand. Teal'c has told me that the Jaffa rebellion has grown beyond all expectations and he has offered a permanent dwelling for the Hak'tyl among their ranks," Ishta's face showed concern as she listened to her friend's request.

Sam nodded, "I know that, Ishta. He told me the same thing right before he went back through to Earth. What _I'm_ saying is: the Tauri have expressed their desire for me to go back to Earth and the SGC. If we do accept their offer and join the main force of the Jaffa rebellion, then it will only be a matter of time before they ask me to stay on Earth." She felt tears creep up into her eyes as she fell on her knees before Ishta, her eyes imploring her to listen, "The Hak'tyl have been my sisters for nearly seven years – I don't want to lose them."

Understanding dawned in Ishta's mind. One of her hands reached up to wipe away the tears that had escaped, "Samantha, you will never lose us. You are a Hak'tyl more than you are a Tauri. That will not change."

Sam let the tears flow freely, "I'm scared, Ishta. For the first time, since Jolinar blended with me, I'm _truly_ frightened."

Ishta gathered the other woman up in her arms, "Of what, Samantha?"

"I don't know. That's what makes it so scary."

The Jaffa priestess pulled away slightly so she could look into Sam's eyes. "Is it possible, that you're afraid of love? Afraid of going home after so long?"

"I don't know."

"Shh, Samantha, all will be well. You'll see - all will be well."

Sam looked up into Ishta's face, "How can you know that?"

"Because everything is well right now, Samantha. We are all alive, and we have just found your people again."

"_My people_?" Sam got up in anger, "Ishta, the Hak'tyl are _my_ people!"

The other woman shook her head, "Samantha, we will always be your sisters, and this may even remain your home, but the Tauri are still your people. It was their race that bore you into existence. You cannot change that."

"I don't even know them anymore! Everything has changed in the past six years. I'm not sure I even know myself."

"Samantha. Calm down. None of us really knows ourselves. The only people who can really know the true you are those around you. Come, kel'no'reem with me. It will relax your mind and provide you with a clear answer for the questions you face."

* * *

Kerri smiled stiffly at Jack as he walked back into the bedroom. He'd seemed preoccupied all night, even to the point of refusing to have sex – said he was too tired. She'd tried to keep the mood jovial and light, but as the minutes of silence ticked by, the astrophysicist could tell what it was he was thinking about. 

When Jack sat down on the bed, but didn't get underneath the blankets, Kerri finally brought the issue to a head. "What's wrong, Jack?"

Jack sighed and turned to his 'girlfriend' of two years. "What makes you so sure something's wrong?"

"You've barely spoken two words to me since you've gotten home!" Kerri said as she closed her book and put it back on the nightstand.

Jack looked at her exasperatedly, "Well, what did you want to talk about?"

"Why are you so grumpy? If I didn't know any better, I'd say it has to do with you guys finding Carter last week."

Jack's lack of response was enough answer for Kerri; she got out of the bed, and moved to take her pillow with her down the stairs. "What are you doing?"

"I'm sleeping in the guest room," Kerri muttered angrily.

Jack rolled his eyes, not knowing what was wrong, "What did I do, Kerri? Tell me what I did this time."

The venomous look Kerri shot her boyfriend was enough to make any man wince, "You don't even know her anymore! She's not the same person you served with six years ago, Jack! She's _changed_ – she's _different_."

"Don't you think I bloody well know that, Kerri? I've changed, too, you know! This isn't about what you think I feel for her…this is about her coming back in the first place – isn't it?"

"I'm going to bed."

"You can't change the fact that we need this alliance, Kerri. You can't change it any more than you can change the fact that we _did_ find Sam on that planet."

As Kerri's form retreated back down the hall, down the stairs to the guest bedroom on the first floor, Jack thought about what he'd said. It was true – you couldn't change what had already happened, could you? He couldn't change what he felt any more than he could blow up a sun with one block of C4.

Kerri felt tears come to her eyes, but stubbornly she refused to let them fall. She knew how Jack felt about Sam. She'd known since the first day she'd been assigned to the SGC. Sam Carter had always gotten _everything_ good that should have gone to Kerri. That was the way it had always had been.

When Kerri had started dating Jack, she thought that things had finally stopped acting like that and she was going to come out on top for once in her life. But _no_. Sam Carter showed up _miraculously_ to steal back everything that Kerri had earned in the past six years. Well, at least there was _one_ thing she couldn't steal back…

* * *

A/N: So? Wanna venture a guess as to what Kerri was talking about? Have a guess and wanna know if you're right? Please review! 


	13. Chapter 13

A/N: You guys are going to hate me for the next couple of chapters. I don't really care - as long as you all remember to review the story about your hate.

* * *

"General Hammond, I believe this alliance will be greatly beneficial to both parties," Teal'c reported after he had arrived back at the SGC from his days among the Hak'tyl women. It had been a rather…enlightening experience for him. 

"I agree with, T," Jack said. "After all, they have Carter. Not to mention intelligence on the inside of Moloc's network. It could be very useful to us."

"But what if Sam doesn't want to come back?" Jacob asked, being the only Tok'ra allowed to sit in on the briefing. "She's a _very_ loyal person, and there'd have to be a very good reason for her to up and leave the Hak'tyl after so long."

"Then we'll just have to _persuade_ her to come back," Jack said. "It's a miracle the SGC has survived as long as it has _without_ her!"

"Jack, it's not that simple," Daniel said, his eyes focused on the wooden table in front of him. "I was able to speak with her before they left, and frankly, right now she's really confused and scared."

"She's _Carter_, Daniel. What the hell could she be afraid of?" Jack said, exasperated.

"You."

"Me?"

"Yes, you," Daniel finally looked up into Jack's eyes and the older man saw the truth to his words and accusations. "She's afraid of falling in love with you, Jack – again."

"Again?" Hammond said, reminding the men that he was still at the de-briefing as much as they were.

Ferretti was the one to answer when no one else would, "Remember the Broca virus, General? Sam jumping Colonel O'Neill _wasn't_ just about procreating."

Hammond turned to Jack, "Is that true, Colonel?"

"I wouldn't know, sir. If you're asking if we had an affair while she was under my command, the answer is no. But I can't speak as to her feelings for me six years ago."

"Sammie is also probably afraid of getting hurt again," Jacob put in logically, drawing attention back to the matter at hand. "I mean, you _are_ with Kerri now, Jack."

"What's that got to do with anything?"

"Sam Carter and Kerri Johnson were best friends in the Air Force Academy," Hammond remembered as his eyes went wide with shock. "I'd completely forgotten!"

Jacob nodded, "And do you remember _why_ Kerri is in the CIA instead of an AF officer, like Sam was?"

Hammond brought his hand up to his head, massaging his temple, "The _paper_."

"What paper?" Ferretti asked, intrigued now as everyone else…although only those on his team knew that Teal'c was intrigued.

"Colonel? Do you remember the assignment schedule for Professor Monroe's class at the Academy?" Jacob asked the younger man sitting next to him.

"Sure. Everyone had to take the class. There were five papers throughout the whole thing, and the last one counted as 40 percent of your grade."

Hammond sighed, "Sam worked night and day for _three_ weeks on that paper. Every second of her free time was devoted to researching her thesis and writing the best damn paper she'd ever written in her life. The day before it was due someone stole it while she was with Jonas on a much-deserved night out. When she got back she had twelve hours before the class started to completely re-write the ten page report."

Jack furrowed his brow, "What does all this have to do with Kerri?"

Jacob looked at Jack like he was a child, "Kerri was the one who stole the paper, Jack! Sam only found out a few days later when Professor Monroe called both of them to his office when he noticed how similar the two ideas were. Kerri was kicked out of the Academy as a result and to the best of my knowledge neither of them have spoken since."

"Holy crap!"

* * *

Right on schedule, two days later, Sam, Ishta, Neith and Mala arrived on Earth to wrap up negotiations. SG-1, Hammond and Jacob were waiting at the base of the ramp to greet the women. 

"Welcome to Earth," Hammond said as the four women walked down the ramp, dressed in their traditional garb. "I am General Hammond, this is Jacob and Selmak of the Tok'ra and I'm sure you all remember the members of SG-1."

Ishta bowed her head in respect to General Hammond, "General, I am Ishta, high priestess of the false god, Moloc. You remember Samantha and Mala. And this is Neith, one of Moloc's other priestesses."

"It is a pleasure to meet you," Hammond said. "If you'll all follow me, we can begin negotiations immediately."

The technicians in the control room watched in hope as the four women followed the officers to the briefing room. With all their combined might, the techs wished that Sam Carter could be persuaded to stay on Earth. Life had been hell without her! McKay was too full of himself to really listen to what others were saying, and Kerri Johnson didn't really understand half the things Hammond asked her to do.

The only thing that really kept most of the techs at the SGC was the promise they'd made years ago to get Sam back, and the hope that someday they would.

* * *

"Without her, there's no deal," Jack said plainly. 

Ishta spread her hands out on the table, her eyes cast down and watching their movements. "It is a…most important issue, for us as well, General Hammond, Colonel O'Neill. Samantha has been integrated into our social and political system. She _is_ Hak'tyl as much as any of us are. She cannot leave us to join you."

Sam got up quickly from her seat, glaring at all who had been arguing about her as if she was a piece of technology and nothing more. "I am _not_ chattel to be auctioned off to the highest bidder. I go where I choose and _stay_ where I choose. My future will _not_ be the deciding factor in this alliance!"

With that she strode swiftly and purposefully to the door connecting the briefing room with the control room below. When she was at the doorway she stopped and glared back at those surrounding the briefing room table. "When you all have reached an agreement on what to do about an alliance, then and _only_ then will I tell you what _I_ will do."

The group watched her leave and only started discussions again when she was out of sight. Little did they know that Sam was now down in the control room having it out with Kerri Johnson, in front of five technicians who desperately wanted Sam to beat the crap out of the other woman.

"Samantha is right," Mala said, hers being the only head among the three Hak'tyl women that was not clouded with anger. "We need to come to an agreement with no talk of Samantha's future among the Hak'tyl or the Tauri. If we treat her like a slave, she will leave both of our worlds."

"The rest of our offer stands," Hammond said. "We will give you a dwelling among the other Jaffa on our Beta Site, food, weapons and all necessary medical attention in return for your knowledge and help fighting against our common enemy."

Ishta stood, soon to be followed by Neith and Mala. In unison all three bowed their heads to Hammond. "Let it be as you have said, General Hammond," Ishta said in an authoritative voice. "And let the alliance between the Hak'tyl and the Tauri be made on such terms."

Now the men from the SGC and Jacob all rose to bow their heads to the women representing the Hak'tyl. Soon the treaty was typed up, and signed by both parties.

* * *

A/N: Well...I don't think you hate this chapter - but the next two most DEFINATELY. Please review! 


	14. Chapter 14

A/N: The response with the last chapter was so swift and strong I just HAD to give you guys this one! I hope you like it.

* * *

Kerri glared venomously at Sam, neither knowing nor caring that the briefing room's occupants were filing out into the control room. 

"Kerri what's this really about?" Sam asked, trying to remain calm. "Why are you acting this way?"

Kerri snorted, "As if you don't know, _Samantha_! You've stolen _everything_ from me! Starting with Jonas and ending with your commission from the Air Force! Dr. Monroe thought that paper was _mine_! And it _was_ mine!"

"Kerri, you stole that paper from me and switched the wording on the thesis and wrote half of the conclusion – that _doesn't_ make it yours. And what else of yours have I taken from you? Huh? You lost your right to a commission with the Air Force the _minute_ you took my paper!"

Kerri's eyes flashed dark in anger as she said, "You stole Jack from me."

A cough caused Sam to look up right into Jack's eyes. He walked toward the two women and put a calming hand on Kerri's shoulder. "Nobody stole me away from you, Kerri. I'm _still_ here," he whispered into her ear, just loud enough for Sam to make out the words he said to calm Kerri's anger.

Sam's clear blue eyes met Kerri's brown ones as she said, "I would _never_ steal him from you, Kerri. Never."

And with that, Sam turned to Walter and asked him to dial up Hak'tyl.

"What are you doing, Samantha?" Hammond asked, being the first one to recover the ability to speak after the verbal catfight.

Sam looked at Hammond, then at her father, followed by the rest of the Tauri in the room, "There are children who need my help and support among the Hak'tyl. Their lives _must_ come first."

* * *

"Sam?" Sarai asked quietly as she watched her mentor and surrogate mother rock the two babies, Hadassah and Adah, to sleep. 

The woman looked up, her hands still gently pushing the crib back and forth to lull the two small babies into a deep slumber. Sam motioned for Sarai to sit beside her. "What is it, little one?" she asked softly so as not to wake the sleeping babes.

Sarai looked down, not sure how to broach the subject she wanted to discuss with Samantha, but positive she had to stay something. "Are you going to live among the Tauri now?"

Sam looked at her strangely, "Where did you hear that?"

"I heard Mala and Neith discussing it yesterday with Ishta."

"And what did they say?" Sam was rather curious to hear what her 'sisters' thought of her living with the Tauri she had grown up with.

"Mala said that you should go because they're your people, but then Neith said that we're your people because you chose to live with us when you had Jolinar."

"And…what did Ishta say?"

"Ishta said it was your choice and that she'd honor whatever you decided to do. Are you going?" Sarai seemed genuinely upset at the prospect of saying good-bye to Samantha.

Sam pulled the young girl into a tight embrace, and she whispered, "Even if I was to go, I would _never_ forget you and I will _never_ leave you."

"What if I wanted to go?" Sam could barely hear the question, Sarai said it so softly, but hear it she did.

The woman without a tribe or a home pulled away, looking at the girl again, studying her dark features. "If you want to go and live with the Tauri…then I will go with you."

* * *

After clearing the issue with Ishta (and some rather heated words with Neith), Sam went through the Chapp'ai to Earth with the promise of returning as soon as it was ready for her three child companions. 

When she arrived on Earth, however, she found a different sight than what she expected to see. Hammond had told her that she would be allowed to stay, given her old house back and all of her things, along with everything else of hers (including a bank account that had tripled in value during her absence) that they had. She wasn't expecting any problems with that, but what did surprise her was one Robert Kinsey standing at the base of the ramp when she arrived at the SGC.

Kinsey held out his hand to Sam, "Samantha Carter."

Sam looked at him with a blank expression she had learned from Mala, "Kinsey. Still a Senator or have they kicked you out yet?"

Hammond cleared his throat, "_President_ Kinsey wanted to meet you again, Samantha."

Sam looked at the General then back at Kinsey, then to Jack O'Neill who was standing on the other side of Kinsey…then back at Kinsey again. "Who'd you kill?"

Kinsey's sputtering was enough answer for Hammond to know how offended he was by the question. Sam just smirked slightly, "Oh, so you actually won the election? My mistake, Mr. President."

Jack wanted to hug Sam as she walked out of the 'Gate room and down to the infirmary to get a once over from Janet before getting to work with her house and arrangements. The SF's in the 'Gate room all chuckled at the response Sam's comments had earned from their Commander in Chief. None of them really respected or liked Kinsey anyway, and it was good to see someone who actually _could_ insult him do so.

"What do you want, Kinsey?" Sam asked as she got a shot from the nurse after her physical was over. The four of them proceeded to walk to the briefing room before Kinsey answered her question.

"Well, Ms. Carter, I would like you to know that you are going to be reinstated as a Captain in the US Air Force with full commission," Kinsey said as he took Hammond's chair for himself.

"No," Sam said simply.

Kinsey scoffed, "What?"

"No. I don't want it. I'm coming back here as a gesture of goodwill between the Hak'tyl and the Tauri – not to rejoin the military."

"What made you change your mind?" Kinsey asked, leaning back in his chair.

Sam looked at him like he was insane (which for all intents and purposes he _was_), "Try spending six and a half years with a Jaffa tribe – during six of which you were in the company of a wonderful symbiote only to have her killed in a raid. Then be told that you can take the three children with you that you love like your own and see what your answer would be when someone asked you to go back to risking your life every other week for the sake of a planet that's not really yours anymore. What would _you_ say?"

Before the conversation could continue to heat up any further, Dr. Fraiser burst into the room, looking out of breath and very concerned. "Colonel O'Neill, sir! General Hammond! I've just received a call from the hospital – Kerri Johnson was admitted a short time ago after being hit by a car."

Jack sprang to his feet, looking anxiously at the petite doctor in front of him, "Is she alright, Doc?"

Fraiser's eyes turned sorrowful, "She was pronounced dead on arrival. I'm sorry, Jack. There was nothing they could do for her, and the baby was too young."

Jack's eyes went wide, his mind kept on repeating that _one_ word he had heard: baby. His voice croaked as he whispered, "She was pregnant?"

Janet realized immediately her error in assuming Jack would know. "If you'll come with me to the infirmary, they're sending her body here. I'll explain more when we get there, Colonel," Janet said, not wanting to continue the conversation in front of Samantha, the president, or Hammond.

Jack nodded and mutely followed her out of the briefing room. All he could think was one thought: Kerri was pregnant and she didn't tell him – and now both of them were dead and there was nothing he could do about it.

Sam pushed the thought of Kerri's death as far from her mind as she could – she didn't want to think about her right then, there were things she had to do. "General Hammond, I'm going to need the keys to my house and ride there."

Hammond nodded, "Of course. Mr. President, if you'll excuse us."

Kinsey nodded, "Certainly, General. There are other matters right now that require my attention. It was good to see you again, Samantha."

"Sir," Sam nodded politely yet curtly at the same time.

* * *

A/N: dodging rotten fruit thrown at her for the numerous offenses made in this chapter Don't hate me! I have a plan! But I must warn you: It _will_ get worse before it will get better. 


	15. Chapter 15

A/N: Wow, the crowd thowing rotten tomatoes at me was pretty big! I can hardly wait to see how big it will be this time! Thanks for the reviews.

* * *

"Hello," Sam said as she picked up her new cell phone on the second ring. It was set up to display the name and number of who was calling her after the first ring and she loved its sleek, silver body. 

"Hey, Sam, it's me, Daniel," the disembodied voice of her old friend came over the line.

"Hey, what's up?" Sam said, sorting out the items before her. She'd been on Earth for about a week now and was almost ready to have Sarai, Hadassah and Adah sent for to join her – the last thing she had to do was get a new driver's license.

Daniel paused, "I was kinda hoping if you would talk to Jack."

Sam was immediately on the defensive, "Why? He has hardly seen me since I got back to Earth and before that the last time we spoke was nearly seven years ago. Why would he want to see _me_?"

Sam could hear how uncomfortable Daniel was in the sound of his voice, "He doesn't…exactly. Jack's still pretty deep in that pit after Kerri died. And the baby. Truthfully, I think you're the only one who _can_ talk to him right now. He won't see anyone from work and General Hammond's scared for him. Frankly everyone is."

"And, what? I'm going to go over to his house as the representative of the SGC – when I haven't been a part of the SGC in _seven years_. What am I supposed to say? Pain sucks, get over it?"

"Sam, please. He needs you. When we lost you last time, to Jolinar, it nearly killed him. Please, Sam. Help him."

Sam closed her eyes in defeat, "I'll need a ride."

"I'll be there in five."

* * *

Jack drank deeply from the bottle in front of him. Somewhere in his mind he knew it was the last bottle of alcohol in the house and that he really should stop drinking, but all he could really focus on was drowning the pain. 

Kerri had been pregnant. Bitch. She hadn't told him and now she was dead – along with their child. _His_ child. The child he'd wanted so much, but didn't know about until she was dead. Selfish whore.

He didn't know how, but he knew that it was all his fault. If he had only done something different…_something_, she would be alive. He drank from the scotch bottle again, the ninety proof liquor not helping him at all, except to make his thinking fuzzy and his adrenaline go haywire. He'd had another child, and he hadn't known about it.

Yet another example that Jack O'Neill was destined to die alone, no kids, no wife, no girlfriend. Not even a fucking dog. The curse of Jack O'Neill: Get close to me, and die. He hated himself for it, even though the logic that it was not his fault was still somewhere, buried deep within his mind.

The bottle was empty and he looked down at himself in disgust. He didn't deserve to live. It was his fault Charlie was dead; it was his fault Sarah had divorced him and died three years later due to depression; it was his fault they had lost Sam because of Jolinar. _It was all his damn fault._

She didn't even knock on the door when she arrived at his house. She just came right in and walked into the living room to find him sprawled on the couch, drunk beyond comprehension and feeling. It was his angel. His guardian angel that only ever came to him when he was drunk, or in some godforsaken prison on another planet.

"Oh, Jack," she whispered as she looked at him, concern for him in her eyes. "What did you do to yourself?"

He brought his hand up and touched her cheek, wanting to make sure that she was real this time and not some alcohol or pain induced fantasy like always. His hand didn't go through her skin like he thought it would. There was real, warm flesh beneath his fingers. She was real.

Jack felt darkness drawing him away from her, but he had to tell her. Had to let her know before the darkness overcame him. "I love you, Sam," he mumbled as his hand dropped back down to his side.

* * *

Sam had walked into the house, looking at the floor and all around as she went. There were too many empty bottles. Too many shattered glasses for Jack to be safe. She walked into the living room and her eyes opened wide in shock and anger at what she saw before her: Jack O'Neill lying prone on the couch, with an empty bottle of scotch in his hands and nearly a hundred other bottles strewn about the room. Every one of them void of the liquor they once contained. 

"Oh, Jack," she said, shaking her head as she knelt by him and took the bottle from his limp hand. "What did you do to yourself?"

When his hand came up and touched her face, a shiver ran through her body and she thought he was dying. "I love you, Sam," she heard him whisper before passing out.

The woman reached into her pocket and grabbed her cell phone, dialing 9-1-1 as fast as she could. "Hurry, please, hurry," she told the operator on the other end after explaining what had happened and where she was. The line went dead and Sam picked up Jack's hand again.

"Don't die, please don't die," she said as she rocked, holding the hand to her cheek like a live preserver. "Not now. I just got back. Please don't die on me, Jack. I love you, too."

* * *

A/N: runs away from pitchfork wielding mob DON'T KILL ME! AHHHH! I'm sorry, but I must point out that I DID give you guys the last tine of this story - ON PURPOSE! ...And if you kill me (or mame or harm in ANY way) you'll never get the end of this story! 


	16. Chapter 16

A/N: wipes off ash from the flamethrower someone used on her hair Thanks for the reviews! Whew! That was hot! Anywho, this chapter is on a semi-happier note. Please remember to review!

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Sam lied to the paramedics when they came to get Jack. They asked if she was family and she told them that she was his fiancée. They let her ride in the ambulance with him to the hospital. No matter what they said, she wouldn't leave his side until they wheeled him into surgery to pump his stomach of all the alcohol in it. 

She paced the hallway outside his room after filling out the forms a nurse gave her. Oh, God, what if he died? What if she had come too late? Oh, God, please don't let him die! For the first time since her mother died, Sam prayed.

She prayed for everything she had lost seven years before. She prayed for the friends that had found her not even three months before. She prayed for the man lying in the room she stood outside of, his life hanging by a slim thread. She prayed for herself. She prayed for the courage to tell him how she felt if he survived. She prayed.

"Sam Carter?" she heard a doctor say softly. She stopped and looked at him with hope and fear in her eyes. "He's going to be okay." Sam sighed with relief and lowered herself into a chair. "You got him here just in time – if you had waited another couple of minutes, he'd be dead right now."

Tears welled in Sam's eyes, and she shut them tightly to stop from crying, "Thank you."

"Ms. Carter…if you would like to sit with him a while. He won't be awake for a few hours yet, but…"

"Thank you, Doctor," Sam whispered, nodding. "I would like to sit with him for a while, if I can."

"Of course, Ms. Carter. I know how hard this must be for you," the doctor led Sam into Jack's room and pulled up a chair so Sam could sit by the bed and hold Jack's hand as he slept a drug induced sleep.

The first thing Jack noticed was that his hand was covered in something warm, and that something was stroking his palm, causing it to tickle. The next thing he noticed was the smell – too clean to be his house…ugh, it was the _hospital_.

He stirred, moving his hand slightly in the one holding it. "Jack?"

"Sam?" Jack asked, opening his eyes and wondering what Sam was doing there and where the hell Kerri was. Then it hit him again like a ton of bricks: Kerri was dead. She had been pregnant with his child and then a car had hit her.

Sam breathed a shaky sigh of relief, "You scared me there, Jack." Suddenly all the anger she had felt the moment she found him came rushing back and her voice got edgy, "What the _hell_ were you thinking! Huh? You know what that much alcohol can do to a person! Where you _trying_ to kill yourself?"

Jack grew still, and quiet, refusing to look into Sam's face to see the eyes full of worry and concern he knew he'd find. Finally, he said, "Better way to go than eating a bullet," so softly Sam almost didn't hear.

"Hey," she said, making him look at her. "You're a selfish bastard if you want to kill yourself when there's still _so much_ for you to do. So much _good_ to be done."

Jack turned away, "All I've ever been good at is blowing things up and hurting people I care about."

"No," Sam said forcefully, "You listen to me, Jack O'Neill – and you listen good: You've done more good in your time at the SGC than most people in their whole lifetimes. How many people have you saved from being hosts? How many worlds have you saved from being wiped out by the Goa'uld? How many lives have you saved? Huh? How many?"

"Not enough to wipe away everything else I've done. Not enough to save those few that I wasn't able to get to." Jack's voice was hard and cold. It was as if he'd given up on caring for anyone and anything.

Sam's eyes grew sorrowful as she thought about the pain she knew he was going through. It hadn't been easy for her either when she'd lost so many people that she loved. "We can never make up for the destruction and death we bring in our wakes. The good we do just gives us something to live for and remember when we die."

She got up and walked out, pausing briefly at the doorway to look back at the man in the bed, staring out the window. "Finding a cause you're willing to die for isn't the trick, Jack. Finding one you're willing to _live_ for is. Live for the fight. Live for me."

And with that she left to call Daniel and ask him to pick her up from the hospital, leaving Jack to his own tormented thoughts.

He thought about what she said – really he did. But, like after Charlie had died, his thoughts kept on returning to how much he just wanted the pain to end and his fight to be over. _Live for me, _she'd said. Could he do that?

Jack remembered his last words to her before passing out. He remembered that he thought she was an angel – or an hallucination, and he'd told her that he loved her. It had really been her. He didn't know what to do anymore. The pain inside of him was so overwhelming, and she wanted him to _continue_ to hurt night and day until he died of…_what_? Old age? Knowing Sam, probably.

He thought for a long time until he heard the door open again and a doctor come in. "Ah, good, Mr. O'Neill, you're awake."

"It's Colonel," Jack said dully as the doctor checked his vitals.

"Sorry, sir," he said with a slight smile. "You gave your fiancée quite a scare there, Colonel. She wouldn't leave you for a minute until you had to go into surgery, and then she was right outside in the hall."

Jack looked at the man oddly, "My what?"

"Your fiancée, sir. Sam Carter."

"Oh, yeah. Her." Jack wished in his heart that she really was his fiancée…and he wondered why she had told the doctor that in the first place.

"Well, listen, Colonel O'Neill," the doctor said. "All your vitals look good, and your blood-alcohol level is back to normal. If nothing else shows up, you can be released later today, Colonel."

Jack nodded, "Good. I hate hospitals."

The doctor smiled, "I can imagine, sir."

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A/N: So? What did you all think of the little tirade Sam went on in this chapter? Please review! And no flames! I'm out of flame retardant!  



	17. Chapter 17

A/N: Okay, I'm a little ansy about this chapter, but just remember one thing: people have slept together after only knowing each other a few minutes.

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SG-1 was back in action, with a temporary leader because Jack wasn't fit for active duty yet – or so Janet kept on telling Hammond. Whenever he complained that it was taking too long (Jack had been on medical leave for almost a month) Janet would just remind him that the first time Jack had been through the Stargate, General West had used the recent death of his son to get him to go on a suicide mission. They didn't want the Tok'ra pulling any stunts. 

Sam had gotten her driver's permit a week after arriving on Earth to live. And, within the next two weeks, she had managed to get in all the practice she needed to go and take the test for her license – she passed with flying colors.

While she was getting everything ready for her children to come live with her, she kept on visiting Jack and trying to get him to talk to her. When she dropped by at his house a month after her arrival on Earth and the devastating news of Kerri and the baby, Jack finally let her in – physically and emotionally.

"I know what it's like to lose someone close to you, Jack," Sam said as she watched him pace the confinement of his living room, to release nervous energy, from her seat on the sofa. He abruptly stopped walking and turned to Sam with a glare.

"How can you know what it's like to lose a _child_? Huh? You _don't_," he spat at her before continuing to pace.

Determined to remain level headed, Sam didn't respond for a few moments. How could she? He'd accused her of not knowing the pain of something that she knew all too well. But how could he know that? They'd barely spoken since she'd arrived on Earth for diplomatic meetings and to resume her life…that one night among the Hak'tyl taking about dreams was all they had.

"Yes, I _do_," she finally said forcefully.

"How?" Jack said, having stopped to look at the picture of Charlie he had on the mantle. He sounded weak, vulnerable…like a man who'd just lost a child.

Sam took a deep, shaky breath. She was determined to tell the man before her – that she _barely_ knew, things about her only known by her doctors.

"When I was dating Jonas, I got pregnant. That's why he proposed, and that's why I said yes." Sam watched for Jack's reaction, and noticed the extreme absence of all movement at her words. "I had a miscarriage four months in. The lose of the baby was one of the hardest things I've ever had to go through, Jack, and it was the last straw for Jonas and the end of his sanity."

Jack slowly turned around and Sam saw the pain and torment in his eyes, but still he didn't speak. All he did was watch her, and she him. But Sam's story wasn't done. With a shaky breath she continued:

"Before Adah and Hadassah, there were _five_ others. Sarai is the only one that survived among the Hak'tyl." She stood up and walked around the coffee table to stand in front of Jack, mere inches from his face. "I've lost five children, Jack. I've lost my mother. I've lost my symbiote. Hell, I lost my whole damn _world_ before! I had friends before I blended with Jolinar, Jack. I had a _life_ here. _Now_ what do I have? A whole bunch of damn trinkets and people who keep on treating me like I'm _Captain Carter_ instead of Samantha of the Hak'tyl."

They stood like that for a long while, saying nothing and hardly even breathing, just staring into one another's eyes and trying to understand. "Let me help you," Sam finally whispered in a barely audible voice.

"I don't know if I can," Jack finally admitted, his voice no louder than hers had been.

Sam stepped closer, leaning in as she did so. "Just let me in," she whispered before kissing him with the desire she'd pent up for years. It took his mind only a few seconds to catch up with what she was doing, and only slightly longer for his body to respond with the same desire and need.

* * *

Jack woke up a few hours later in the midst of a nightmare. Someone was calling his name over and over, trying to pull him out of it. Thankfully for them, they were smart enough not to touch him as he dreamed. 

His eyes flew open in a panic, the last remembrances of the nightmare plaguing his thoughts as he searched around the room and found Sam standing next to him with pure concern written in her eyes. What happened next he couldn't help. Jack grabbed her and pulled her toward his body, shaking with fear and pain.

Then the tears started to flow. Not just a small sprinkling of them, no, Jack was weeping his eyes out onto Sam's shoulder as he held onto her for dear life. Her arms came around his naked torso and she pulled him closer to her own body, not saying a word but allowing her touch to sooth his distress as best it could.

The two lovers stayed like that for…neither knew, nor cared, how long. When Jack quieted, he noticed his neck was wet with Sam's tears, and embarrassingly how wet Sam's bare chest was with his own tears.

"Gees, Sam, I'm sorry," he said, embarrassed by his behavior and lack of control that night above all else. He tried to pull away, but Sam tightened her grip, not letting him leave her embrace.

"Don't be sorry, Jack." She pulled him back down onto the bed, cuddling up against him as they lay down. "I know how it feels."

Sam pulled the covers back over them and nestled into Jack's body. "Sleep. We'll talk later, Jack," she whispered before succumbing to the sleep that pulled at her.

But Jack couldn't sleep: not after that nightmare. He watched Sam sleep as he thought about everything that had happened to them.

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A/N: I know that this one goes into a little more detail than I'm used to, but is it still good? What do you guys think? I'm anxious to see what you guys think of this chapter more than any other chapter in this story. Please review. 


	18. Chapter 18

A/N: Eeek! Thanks for the reviews letting me know that I didn't completely ruin this story with the last chapter. Here's more as a "thank you, I did quite well on that test, if I do say so myself" chapter.

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His mind went wild with all the thoughts that plagued him. Fist he thought of the woman curled up beside him, breathing lightly in the realm of sleep. From the minute SG-1 had seen her on that horse on Hak'tyl…his heart had stopped and Jack _knew_ that she was supposed to be with him. 

The more time SG-1 had spent on the Amazonian planet the less and less Jack thought of Kerri. In fact, it was only when Ferretti reminded him later that the guilt started to bombard him. She was his girlfriend and no sooner had his old _2IC_ come back from the dead then Jack wanted to dump Kerri and go screw Sam.

It was the briefing room all over again.

Jack's mind went to thoughts of Kerri and the baby next. Oh, God, Jack had wanted that baby more than anything. Kerri had known that…and then she took his baby from him. That's how he thought of it now. Kerri had died and stolen Jack's child away from him. She hadn't wanted kids – and she knew Jack did. Selfish bitch.

Jack thought about his relationship with the brunette CIA agent. They'd gone out on dates, sure, but the bulk of their relationship had been tied to the bedroom. It wasn't even like she was that good…but he had been lonely. Truth be told, Jack had been settling when he'd taken Kerri home that first night.

He'd missed Sam so damn much it scared him. Even then he had loved her – it hurt _so_ _much_ to let her walk through the Stargate all those years ago. But he knew it was the only way to save her.

_If you love someone, let them go. If you're meant to be with them, they will come back to you._ His mind knew this and knew it was the right thing to do…but his heart protested with every ounce of his being. Jack had nearly died the day that Sam left.

Every single mission they went on as SG-1 after that didn't have the same feel to it. Jack, Teal'c and Daniel were forever searching the crowds on all the planets to see if Sam was among them. Ferretti tried to help; tried to get them to move on – but he didn't know how. The three men missed Sam's energy so much, her vivaciousness and curiosity that it killed them inside with each planet that didn't have their scientist/feminist/Carter.

He was so broken at Sam's absence that Jack actually grew to hate McKay (her replacement) with such a passion that the only time the two could work together was when the fate of the world was in the mix. Even then there was always hostility in the air whenever Jack had to be in the same room as one of the main scientists who didn't work in the control room.

Kerri had been an attempt Jack's friends made for him to start having a life outside of work and a reason other than Samantha Carter to live for. Agreeing to go out on a date with Kerri had been one of the biggest mistakes (in his opinion) in his life. Suddenly there was someone who cared if he lived or died – again. Jack couldn't devote all of his time to going and finding Sam, talking with her father and brother, and decidedly _not_ living his life.

And now Kerri was dead, and Sam was in his arms. She was the one he'd pictured every time he'd made love to Kerri (and nearly called out "Sam" instead of "Kerri" a few times in the throws of love)…but now he _had_ Sam and he wasn't sure if it was what he wanted.

Sure, Sam was the woman he'd loved seven years ago, but a lot had changed for both of them in the past seven years. Sam had a life among the Hak'tyl – a life she'd given up for the joy of a little girl he had met on his first visit to the planet. Sam obviously cared so much about those children…did he have the right to take that away from her?

The logical part of his mind said that he would only be adding to _Sam's_ happiness by giving himself to her, but the voice that said that was small in comparison to the doubts that haunted him as he watched Sam's breasts rise and fall with the intake and exhale of breath from her smooth, molded body. Oh, God, why was he so confused?

A beer. He needed a beer to think clearly. But if he got up, what if Sam woke up and caught him after he'd told her he wouldn't drink any more without someone else there? She'd know that he had lied to her. She'd be angry. She'd leave. He'd lose her trust forever. Could he risk that for a beer?

It frightened him that he was already so dependant on Sam. She was the only light left in his life. First there had been Sarah; but she had left him after his second light had gone out: Charlie. After Charlie had died, Jack had met Sam – Captain Samantha Carter. Her spunk and determination had brought him back from that edge even more so than Dr. Daniel Jackson and Skaara had done. And when she had been taken prisoner by that Goa'uld – Tok'ra – Jack had died again. Kerri had tried her hardest to be that light in his life, but she had failed miserably. It seemed that now, Samantha Carter was his only true light and reason for life.

Sam stirred in her sleep, and Jack tightened his arm around her to lull her into sleep again. His action usually worked with Kerri, but with Sam it did the exact opposite. Soon she was looking sleepily up into Jack's face, smiling. She snuggled back into Jack's frame, and sighed contently.

"Hey," she whispered.

"Hey, yourself," Jack answered, relishing the feel of her in his arms.

They were quiet for a few minutes when Sam suddenly spoke, "You know that song _Like a Virgin_ by Madonna?"

"Yeah?"

"That's what I feel like right now."

Jack kissed the top of her head in a silent 'thank you' to her words.

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A/N: Sorry, I just HAD to add that song in here! It was begging for it! Please review - this story is going to be taking a much...er, slightly happier note from now on. 


	19. Chapter 19

A/N: The kids are in this one! I hope you like it!

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Jack went back to work a few days after Sam's visit to his house. He hadn't really spoken to her since because of the arrangements to move the children to Earth (birth certificates and such needed to be procured). In the days they'd been apart after their torrid night at Jack's house, he'd been thinking about how that night would affect their relationship. If they even had a relationship. 

Oh, God, he wanted them to have a relationship. One with more than stolen glances and hidden touches like they'd had before Jolinar. He wanted a _real_ relationship with her full of passionate nights like the one they had shared a week before, nights out on the town with dancing and dinner. He wanted to be able to hold her in his arms when she started to cry…something Kerri always expected him to do but he never could.

Was it wrong for him to forget about Kerri so easily? Her parents were dead and Jack hadn't even bothered with a memorial service to honor her past the one they had at the SGC. He'd forgotten her as soon as Sam had walked in the room.

Jack thought back to her accusation of Sam stealing him from her…she'd been right. Sam had stolen his heart the moment she'd walked into the briefing room nearly eight years before – and he'd let her. When he'd let her go – so that she could _survive_ – he'd nearly died. For yet another time, Jack O'Neill almost committed suicide. And then they'd found her again.

His thoughts were interrupted by the klaxons blaring, "**Off world activation!**" he heard Walter shout into the intercom. Jack leapt to his feet and swiftly made his way from his office (he'd only discovered a year ago) to the 'Gate room to greet Sam as she arrived back from gathering her children from the Hak'tyl.

Sam stepped through the Stargate with a grin on her face as she held one child in each arm and Sarai walked beside her carrying a satchel in her hands. Sam's grin only grew larger when she saw Jack standing at the base of the ramp waiting for them next to General Hammond and the rest of SG-1.

Sam went to stand next to them and turned back to the wormhole, causing the men to do the same: a few seconds later Ishta walked through. Samantha turned to Teal'c to see his reaction (shock evident on her face that he showed any emotion at all) and smiled, turning her attention back to Jack. She passed him one of the babies…Adah he thought as he looked at the nine-month-old girl.

"Happy birthday, Teal'c," Sam said as Ishta walked over to him and put her hand on his cheek in an intimate gesture full of love.

Jack looked at Sam with confusion, "It's his birthday?"

Sam nodded, "One hundred and seven years old today."

Teal'c's eyes never left Ishta's as he said, "I thank you, Samantha. This is a most…pleasing birthday present."

Jack grinned at the two lovebirds, "Come on, guys. We gotta get to the infirmary to get them checked out."

After Ishta passed 'inspection' in the infirmary for any unknown alien diseases, Teal'c volunteered to show her around the base (she didn't have the time to go on the five-cent tour last time). No one saw either of them for the rest of the day. They even eluded the security cameras.

* * *

Sam and Ishta had their physicals done first so that Sarai could see that there was nothing to worry about when Janet did hers. All ran smoothly until Janet tried to take Hadassah from Sam's arms for the baby's physical: the screams were louder than the cries of three SG teams coming back from a Goa'uld ambush. Of course, as soon as Hadassah started her whining, Adah found it her responsibility to get across her sister's discomfort. 

It took Jack and Sam fifteen minutes to get the two quiet again, and Janet was resolved to performing both physicals with the children safe in the arms of Sam and Jack.

Sarai looked at Jack curiously as Janet performed Adah's physical, wondering why her 'mother' liked him so much. "How old are you?" she asked him, determined to find out why Samantha loved him.

Jack scowled at the eight-year-old slightly, "How old are _you_?"

"I asked you first."

"Well, I asked you second!"

"You're not being very nice."

"Yeah, well, I'm older than you, I don't have to be nice."

Sam and Janet watched the banter like a tennis match – neither one was surprised that Jack was acting like that. When Sarai looked like she was about to go into tantrum mode, Sam intervened.

"Jack! Don't do that to her! She's only eight!" Sam handed Hadassah to Janet, who took her warily lest the child start to cry again, before she gathered Sarai up in her arms with a mock glare at Jack, "Sarai, it's okay. People get really mean here after they turn_ forty-seven_."

Jack looked at her with wide eyes, "How did you find out?"

Sam grinned, letting Sarai go now that she was calm again, "Janet let me see your file."

Jack looked at Janet in shock, but before he could blow a hatchet Sam calmed his nerves, "The one with the most black-outs, Jack! Not the classified ones."

He calmed down considerably – it also probably helped that Adah chose that moment to pick up on his worried behavior and start to fuss.

"So, Sarai, wanna see you're new home?" he asked, taking the attention off himself and toward something the young girl could get really excited about.

She nodded empathically, "Indeed."

Jack gave Sam a look before they all gathered up their things and Jack volunteered to go with Sam to get stuff set up at her house. When they were in the elevator, Sam's shoulder brushed against Jack's and she blushed profusely, "Sorry."

"Don't worry about it," Jack said just as quietly. If she wanted to play it that way…he'd manage. It hurt him that she would feel necessary to apologize for brushing his shoulder, but he didn't know what she thought about their relationship, and he didn't want to push her into something she didn't want.

Resolutely, he resigned himself to something he'd never done before: let the woman take the lead in a relationship.

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A/N: So? What do you think? Please gift us with your thoughts in the honoring form of reviews - they help us sleep at night. So much easier than going out and seducing a poor, "innocent" man with the drug we stole from Hathor to sing our praises.  



	20. Chapter 20

A/N: Thanks for the support for this story. It appears that people are starting to lose interest, but don't worry, it's almost done.

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The little girl watched with wide-eyed fascination as Jack and Sam prepared dinner for the small group. They were making something called "macaroni and cheese". She didn't know exactly what that was, but the smells emanating from the kitchen were _very_ pleasing and her mouth was watering in anticipation. 

Sam moved to set the table while Jack stirred the pasta to perfection. The twins had been started on solid foods before being rescued by the Hak'tyl, and apparently this meal was something that didn't require very much tooth work. Sarai later found out that Sam had cooked a separate dish a little bit longer than the one Sam, Jack and Sarai were eating from so that the twins wouldn't choke.

After dinner was cleared away and the twins were playing quietly in their cribs with bottles of milk and blankets, just waiting for sleep, Jack looked at Sarai and said, "What do you know about TV?"

The little girl cocked her head as she looked at him, "TV? What's that?"

Jack looked horrified at Sam, "You didn't even tell her about _TV_!"

Sam rolled her eyes, "Yes, I did. Honey, he's asking you about television. Remember, I told you sometimes it's called TV?"

"Oh, _yeah_. Not much, why?"

"How would you like to watch one of our favorite movies?"

"Yours and whose?"

"Mine and Sam's," Jack said with a grin.

Sam looked at him oddly, "How do you know what my favorite movie is?"

"Second team night at my house right before we got Cassie – we watched _The Wizard of Oz_ and you mentioned how much you liked it," Jack said recalling an incident seven years before.

Sam smiled fondly at the memory. It gave her a warm fuzzy feeling inside to know that Jack remembered things like that about her. "You'll love it, Sarai. Come on, let's get it set up."

Sarai went into the movie dubious, but as the show went on, she was enthralled with the interactions between Dorothy and the Scarecrow. She leaned into the end of the sofa where she sat curled up with a blanket. This part of Tauri culture was one of the things she hadn't been able to experience among the Hak'tyl. It was one of the reasons she had wanted to come to this planet.

Sam and Jack glanced at each other frequently during the movie. Sam less so than Jack (she'd last seen the film seven years before), but she still snuck a few looks at his beautifully crafted face. Oh, God, she'd missed him.

Jack kept on glancing at Sam, watching her enjoy the movie she hadn't seen in years. Little did she know that he kept up the Wizard of Oz quips with his team just because the movie he'd loved for years reminded him of her. She was Dorothy, after all.

When the movie had finished, Sam looked over at Sarai to find her asleep. Smiling, the woman picked her up gently and moved to tuck her into her bed in the room she was sharing (by choice) with the twins.

Jack stopped her with a shake of his head and took the sleeping child from her to carry Sarai to bed. A few minutes later he walked back out into the living room to find Sam waiting for him with a cup of coffee at the table.

"Thank you," Sam said with a smile as Jack sat down across from her.

"For what?" Jack asked innocently.

Sam thought for a moment, then realized that Jack had done nothing out of the ordinary for him. He'd always been like that, "Nothing."

Jack smirked, "Think _nothing_ of it. I've got plenty of that."

Sam looked down at the swirling coffee in her cup. "We need to talk."

"Uh oh. This can't be good," Jack said, trying to lighten the somber mood Sam had cast with her word choice.

She smiled slightly, never fully being able to resist his charm. "Actually, that depends on how you take what I'm about to tell you."

"What is it?" It was safe to say that Jack was now _fairly_ concerned. Fairly being an understatement.

"When you…passed out at your house when I came over before..."

"When I was drunk beyond belief and you called 9-1-1 to save my sorry ass from alcohol poisoning?"

"Yeah," Sam grimaced, not really enjoying the memory. "Anyway, you said something to me before you passed out. Do you remember?"

"Of course. I told you that I love you."

Sam nodded, clearly uncomfortable with the conversation. "Did you hear what I said after that?"

"No."

Sam switched gears, having expected the answer, "When we had sex that night…what was that to you?"

Now it was Jack's turn to grimace. He _really_ didn't like this line of questioning/prodding, although he knew what it was leading to. "It was the best night in my life aside from the night Charlie was born. I meant what I said, Sam. I do love you. Hell, I'm _in_ love with you! I have been for the past eight years!"

Sam's wide eyes met his dark, passionate ones with surprise. She _hadn't_ been expecting that. "You are?"

"_Yes_, I am. Ever since you walked into that damn briefing room and called me the worst name possible – _sir_."

Sam felt a goofy smile creep onto her face. "I told you that I love you, too."

"I know."

"What?" How was that possible? He said he didn't remember what she had said! "How?"

Jack smirked. So much for genius. "You told the paramedics that you were my fiancée."

Sam felt a blush explode in her cheeks, traveling provocatively down her neck. "Who told you?"

"The doctor, right before they sent in the psychiatrist to make sure I was in fit mental state to be released." That damn cheeky grin Sam always wanted to kiss off his face (or slap off) was back.

Giving into temptation, Sam did exactly that. It took Jack's brain a few seconds to realize what she was doing, but when he did, the response was immediate.

A few hours later, spooned against Jack's warm body, Sam drifted off to sleep with the same thought Jack had moments following: they were going to be okay.

* * *

A/N: Okay, so? What do you guys think? Too sappy, OOC? Please tell me! 


	21. Chapter 21

A/N: This story is winding down, but there's still a few more things I have to take care of before it ends: this chapter is the beginning of that. I also answer a number of questions in this chapter you guys have been asking.

* * *

"Yes, Mr. President. I'll tell them," Hammond said into the red phone. He'd been as surprised as anyone when Kinsey had won the election for president four years before, but he wouldn't be surprised if he won the re-election later this year. The man had been a good friend to the Stargate Program after he realized just _exactly_ what they were dealing with (of course this only came _after_ Sam was taken over by Jolinar and he saw the video tapes of it). 

"Yes, sir. Goodbye, Mr. President." Hammond chuckled as he hung up the phone. Robert Kinsey really was a romantic at heart. He pressed the intercom button that connected him with Walter, "Walter, get me SG-1 and Samantha Carter in here ASAP."

"Yes, sir," came the voice on the other end.

A few minutes later the five people in question were cramped into Hammond's office. He noticed with some satisfaction that Samantha and Jack were standing rather close together. "Well, it seems that the five of you have a mission to complete."

Sam looked at him like he was crazy, "_What_?"

"President Kinsey wants all five of you to represent the SGC at his birthday Black and White next week. I have agreed. You all leave in seven days."

Sam started to protest, "What about.."

"I will be watching your three for you, Sam. Well, me and Alyssa, she's really anxious to meet them."

Sam rolled her eyes, "Uncle George, when are you going to marry that poor woman and put her out of her misery?"

Ferretti and Daniel looked at Sam like she had grown two heads: _Uncle_ George?

Hammond chuckled, "In February, actually. Dismissed."

Everyone filed out of the office, all of them confused why they were going to the ball. Jack lingered a few seconds after Sam, wanting to ask Hammond a question.

The general knew what Jack was going to ask and beat him to the punch, "It's all taken care of, son. He knows what to do and has hired a…rather suitable person for the occasion. Don't worry about it, Jack."

"Thank you, sir."

* * *

Sam stopped by the infirmary to say hi to Janet before going to pick up Sarai at school and the twins at their daycare. 

"Do you have a dress?" Janet asked curiously.

Sam shook her head, "All the clothes I had before Jolinar either don't fit me anymore or are completely out of date. I haven't had the time or the chance to go shopping for formals yet."

Janet thought for a moment before commenting, "Do you know what dress size you are?"

"Of course, I'm an eight."

Janet raised her eyebrows, "You don't look like it. I would have pegged you for a four."

Sam grinned at her, "It's my hips, I swear! So, what were you thinking."

"Well, if you want we can go shopping right now online. Have them send the dress overnight and if it doesn't fit right I can help you fix it."

"You sew?"

"I had to learn when Cassie would bring home clothes that were a _little_ bit off in extreme ways. What do you think?"

"Sounds good. Let's go."

Janet pulled up a web browser and typed in the website she frequented for formal wear for Cassie and herself. "What style were you thinking of getting?"

Sam shrugged, "Probably an A-line or a sheath dress."

The petite doctor grimaced at her choices, "Pull up a chair, we'll browse _all_ of them."

The warrior groaned but did as she was told. Fifteen minutes later, Sam spotted a dress she would definitely _not_ have considered trying on in the store. It was a mermaid style with a satin black base coloring and white accents. There were a few petticoats showing beneath the black flare at the bottom, and a thin white ribbon accenting the hips and lower curves of the wearer.

"That one," Sam said definitively. "I want that one. Don't care about the price, just get me that dress."

Janet grinned at Sam then proceeded to order it, "Did Colonel O'Neill give you back your credit cards?"

"Yeah, here, do you want MasterCard or Visa?"

"Visa, it's safer online." A few seconds later Janet closed the browser and looked at Sam with a grin, "Tomorrow your dress should be delivered to the post office. Just pick it up on the way home."

"Excellent."

* * *

Sarai waited patently in the living room while Sam tried on the new dress. The little girl kept on catching the petite doctor, who was sitting next to her, staring at her forehead. Finally, the girl couldn't take it anymore. 

"What is it?"

Janet was not phased that the girl Jaffa child knew she was looking – she hadn't exactly been subtle. "Why don't you have the mark on your forehead?"

Sarai reached up and rubbed her smooth skin, "You get the mark on your ninth year. Ishta uses the marks to symbolize who's started their serious training to become a warrior among the Hak'tyl."

Before Janet could respond they heard, "Now don't you guys laugh at me. I'm coming out," Sam said authoritatively.

"You look like a princess," Sarai said. It was the first thing that came to her mind, and it was so true. Anyone who looked at Sam would think that the dress had been made for her to wear. She was stunning.

"Jack's going to flip when he sees you," Janet said, causing Sam to blush. "Are you going to show it to him before the trip?"

Sam shook her head with a mischievous grin, "I want him to sweat a little, first."

* * *

"So, the Tok'ra have been working on something to help the Jaffa," Jacob told Hammond and SG-1 when he stopped by Earth two days before SG-1 and Sam was scheduled to leave for Washington. He pulled a vial out of his tunic and showed it to Hammond. 

Daniel looked at it curiously, "Isn't that Tretonin?"

"What?" Jack asked.

"The drug the Pangarans offered us last year," Teal'c supplied.

"Whoa! That's ground Goa'uld!" Jack said, backing away from the table slightly.

"This is slightly different," Jacob said. "We've been refining it to work on the Jaffa physiology. This is the result. The last thing to do is test it on someone."

"I will undertake this endeavor," Teal'c answered the unasked question. "If it will free the Jaffa from reliance on a symbiote it is worth the risk of my life."

"That's what we were hoping you would say," Jacob said.

* * *

A/N: HEHE! Please review! Tell me what you think! You all know how much I value your reviews.  



	22. Chapter 22

A/N: Thanks to the eight of you who reviewed the last chapter. I'm glad you all still like it. Once again, I'm going to reitterate that this story is winding down and I would really appreciate your guys' thoughts on what should happen next.

* * *

"It's working pretty well so far," Janet said, looking over Teal'c's vitals. "As far as I can tell it's working just as effectively as the symbiote." 

"So he's on for the trip tomorrow?" Jack asked, not wanting to leave the big guy behind.

Janet smiled at Jack's train of thought, "He should be able to go, yes."

"Excellent."

Sam walked close to Teal'c's bed, where he was being kept for observation. "Do you think we should offer it to the Hak'tyl?"

"I believe that if this drug remains effective over the course of the venture to Washington D.C. we have found a liable way to free the Jaffa from the Goa'uld. It should be offered to the Hak'tyl," Teal'c answered.

Sam nodded, but it was Jack who answered, "When we get _back_," leaving no argument that they would be waiting until _after_ the trip.

Sam grinned at Jack, "Come on, I've gotta pick up Sarai from school."

As they were walking out to Sam's new car he asked her, "I was meaning to ask – how did you teach her to read and write and do math so fast?"

Sam smirked, "I taught her how to write and read with the Hak'tyl, and the math wasn't too hard – the Hak'tyl _do_ believe that their young should know the basics at least."

"Hmm."

A few minutes later Jack pulled up outside of Sarai's school just as the little girl came running over to the car with another girl about her same age. "Mommy!" Sarai said happily as Sam got out of the car, "Can we give Jamie a ride home?"

Sam turned to look at the pale little girl with bright red hair standing next to her adopted daughter. She looked small for her age and frail – Sam could tell immediately why Sarai had handpicked her as a friend. "Where are Jamie's parents? Won't they come to pick her up later?"

Jamie shook her head, "My parents are in Jamaica and my sister already called to say that she can't pick me up today."

"Why not?" Sam asked, now pretty concerned for the girl.

"She has a date."

Jack's heart went out to the child and he answered for Sam, "We were going to go get some food right now, you wanna come, Jamie?"

Both girls' eyes lit up with excitement. Jamie nodded passionately, her red frizz flying every which way.

"Come on, then," Sam said. "I'm Sam, Jamie. And this is Jack."

"Are you Sarai's mommy and daddy?"

Sarai whispered something in her ear and Jamie nodded, "Oh, okay. Sorry. My sister says sometimes I ask too many questions."

Sam smiled warmly at the girl, "It's okay. I'm a scientist, it's my job to ask questions. You can never ask me too many questions, Jamie."

Jack pulled out of the parking lot and starting driving toward the center of town, "So, where would you ladies like to eat?"

"I think Jamie should pick!" Sarai said.

"That's a really good idea, Sarai," Sam said. "Jamie, where would you like to eat?"

"Ummm…Togo's!" Sam had no clue what 'Togo's' was, but apparently Jack did. She'd trust his judgment.

"Okay, but first we've got to pick up the twins at daycare. Do you like babies, Jamie?" Sam said, keeping the girls' attention occupied as Jack drove to the daycare. It was a good thing Sam had purchased an SUV, otherwise they would have been _way_ too cramped in Jack's much smaller truck.

* * *

When they got back to Sam's house early in the evening, Sam and Jack sat Sarai down in the living room. "Honey, you, Adah and Hadassah are going to be staying with General Hammond and his fiancée, Alyssa, this weekend." 

"Why?" Sarai wondered if Samantha didn't want her anymore.

"Because the president has asked us to go to Washington D.C. for the weekend. I'll be back on Sunday night, though," Sam said, smiling, hoping the little girl would understand her reasons for leaving.

Sarai shrugged, "As long as you come back."

* * *

"Sarai?" Jack asked as he tucked her into bed that night. 

"Yes, Jack?" the little girl asked him seriously.

"How would you feel if I asked Sam to marry me?"

"What's that mean?"

"It means that we'd be…bound to each other. I'd be her husband, and your dad; and she'd be my wife."

Sarai thought about that. She couldn't remember her own father, but from what Mala told her about him, he wasn't very nice. Jack was nice, she liked him. "Would you be Adah's and Hadassah's dad, too?"

Jack smiled sadly, "Yeah, I would."

The young girl nodded decisively, "Then I think that sounds like a very good idea. Sam missed you a lot when we were with the Hak'tyl."

The man furrowed his brow, "She did?"

"She dreamed about you almost every night," Sarai told him, unaware that Sam had meant to keep that little fact secret.

A big smile appeared on Jack's face and he kissed Sarai's cheek lightly, "Sleep tight."

"Good night, Jack." Sarai snuggled deep into her blankets as Jack left to go change into his night wear and join Sam in their bed.

* * *

"So, can he go?" Jack asked, walking into the infirmary early the next morning. 

Janet checked the progress and smiled at him, "Yes, he can."

"Yippy!"

Janet looked at him oddly, "Did you have sex last night?"

"Why?" Jack asked, calming down and looking at her oddly. How did she know?

"You just seem…chipper, that's all. A _lot_ more so than usual."

"Doc," Jack said, "You're worse than Danny is about stuff like that."

"So, that's a yes?"

"I'm not saying anything."

"Then I'm not letting you go on the trip. Doctor's orders, after all."

Jack glared at her. "_Fine_. You'll be happy to know that I did _not_ have sex last night. I'm just happy." _But I did ask Sarai if it would be okay if I asked Sam to marry me and she said she loved the idea._

Janet snorted as Jack walked out of the infirmary, intent on finding some pie. "Yeah, right, Colonel. Sam's already told me about your relationship," she whispered to herself more than anyone else. She was happy that the Colonel was getting along better with the staff now…Sam was a miracle worker when it came to Jack O'Neill and scientific technology. Both of which most of the people at the SGC were clueless about.

* * *

A/N: So? What do you guys think? Got an idea about what Jack asked Hammond and Kinsey about? You'll find out more next chapter! Please review! Oh, and if there's anything that I wrote about in earlier chapters that I didn't get cleared up please tell me!  



	23. Chapter 23

A/N: Thanks so much for your reviews! I hope the next few chapters (a.k.a. THE ENDING) live up to your expectations. I'm going to finish posting this story before I continue to post 'Military Brats' because I'm a little tired of having three novellas needing to be finished.

* * *

"What's this?" Kinsey asked when his Chief of Staff put a folder on his desk. 

Amy (or Ms. Larson as the rest of the staff respectfully referred to the Chief of Staff as) looked at her boss like he was a child – he really had too much to do, "That's the guest list for your BW, and the list of performers you requested who have agreed."

"BW? Amy, please don't speak acronyms to me right now," Robert Kinsey asked, "I feel old enough as it is."

"You're Black and White Ball, sir," Amy said helpfully with a small smile on her lips. Robert Kinsey could be so dense at times.

"Oh! Who'd we get?" He eagerly opened the file to find the list of performers. He scanned the list then looked up, "What happened to Jimmy Buffet?"

"Mr. President, he said that he was terribly sorry but he has prior arrangements for that night and can't change them."

"His wife?"

"Yes, sir."

Kinsey looked down at the list again:

_Billy Joel_

_Aerosmith_

_Green Day_

_Paul McCartney_

_Eris Clapton_

_Natasha Bedingfield_

_James Blunt_

"Thank you, Amy, this will be fine." It was a rather strange combination of singers, granted, but it would serve his purpose well.

"Thank you for your time, Mr. President."

Robert looked over the list again, thinking about the exact song he would ask Billy Joel to play for what Hammond had requested from Jack O'Neill…this was going to be _perfect_ if he had anything to say about it.

* * *

The plane ride to Washington was quiet for the most part. Sam kept on wondering why she was going to the President's birthday party…why the hell was she going to _Robert Kinsey's_ birthday party? 

She was crazy, there was no doubt about it. It was the only plausible explanation she could think of: she was mentally insane.

Their plane landed at Anderson and Major Davis was waiting for them. "Colonel, Dr. Jackson, Teal'c, Dr. Carter, please come with me. I'll take you to your accommodations for the duration of your stay in Washington."

About ten minutes later their limo pulled up outside the White House itself. "We're staying _here_?" Sam asked incredulously.

Davis smirked at her, "It was a direct request from President Kinsey that his guests from the SGC stay at his house."

They were led inside, past several check points to make sure they weren't bombers (or bugged) before Amy met them. She smiled warmly and held out her hand for them to shake, "I'm Amy Larson, the Chief of Staff here. President Kinsey has asked that I show you to your rooms before dinner. He also requests that the five of you join him for dinner with his wife and children."

"Sounds great!" Jack grinned in his overconfident manner, "So, where's the rooms?"

"The First Lady requested that Ms. Carter sleep in the room closest to hers'," Amy said as she began to walk with them toward the bedrooms. "Now, this happens to be the Lincoln Bedroom, so you probably already know what it looks like. The four of you gentlemen are going to be sharing two bedrooms close to the Lincoln Bedroom. The White House is rather pressed on space at the moment, otherwise all five of you would be in different rooms."

"Why's that?" Sam asked curiously.

Amy looked back at them before leading them down another corridor, "The Kinsey children all have children of their own who are demanding that if they're staying at the White House then they are all getting their own rooms. With only sixteen bedrooms, they all filled up rather quickly. Here we are, the Lincoln Bedroom."

* * *

A few hours later, the five members from the SGC were led to the family dining room for dinner. It was a quiet affair for Sam and Jack, but Daniel was soon talking up a storm with the president's oldest grandson about Egyptian gods. It was all anyone else who knew about the Stargate could do not to laugh at the conversation. 

"Mrs. Kinsey, this chicken is to die for," Jack said with a charming smile.

Gladys Kinsey smiled warmly at the man, "Well, Colonel, I remembered that a few years ago you said you enjoyed lemon chicken. I had the cooks prepare it just for you."

Sam looked at Jack oddly, "A few years ago? How many dinners have you had with the First Family?"

Jack shrugged, "Just a few."

Daniel shook his head as Ferretti answered with a smirk, "He's lyin' to ya, Sam. Jack's been a regular with the Kinsey's since about a year after you left."

Sam looked at Jack blankly, "That's news."

Robert Kinsey could tell the conversation was getting a little cold and decided to change the topic to one that the astrophysicist could warm into, "So, tell us Doctor, how are your new children?"

"You have children?" B. Kinsey, their daughter, asked Sam curiously. "Dad didn't tell us that."

Sam shrugged, "I adopted three little girls. They're fine, sir. Sarai is adjusting to life here, and school, rather well. And I'm not too sure it makes one bit of difference to the twins. Adah and Hadassah are adjusting well in any case."

"Adah, that's a pretty name," Iris, B's daughter, said wistfully. "How'd you come up with it, Dr. Carter?"

Sam shook her head slightly, "Please, call me Sam. And I didn't. One of the women in the village I was working in for the past six and a half years named her. It was her mother's name."

"Oh, that's sweet."

Dinner continued for only a few more minutes before everyone retired to their rooms, the peoples from the SGC to sleep, the younger Kinsey's to play card games, and the older Kinsey's to do what the country dictated they do.

Since the room Jack and Teal'c were sharing was close to Sam's lone room, she was able to stop Jack before he went into his room. With a slight grin she said, "Wanna sleep in a room Lincoln never slept in?"

Jack furrowed his brow, deciding to play with her a little, "I thought that's what I was doing. I'm not the one sleeping in the Lincoln Bedroom."

"Wanna sleep in a bed Lincoln never slept in?"

"Once again, I thought that's what I was going to do."

Sam leaned into him and whispered, "Wanna sleep with a woman Lincoln never slept with? In a bed and room Lincoln never slept in. I hear it gets cold here at night."

Jack couldn't help himself one last time. He pulled back and said with a smile, "I'm sure the blankets are warm and they'll turn up the heat if you ask nicely, Samantha."

Sam glared at him like an angry wife; "If you expect to be getting any for the next year and a half you'll get your butt in that room _now_."

* * *

A/N: Sorry, I just HAD to add in that bit about the Lincoln Bedroom. Oh, and the White House has sixteen bedrooms, in the episode 'Shades of Gray' we find out that Kinsey has three children and seven grandchildren. Oy! Please review!  



	24. Chapter 24

A/N: Tehe! Only one more chapter to go! Thank you all for reviewing!

* * *

The next day, Sam was told that President Kinsey wanted to meet with her in the Oval Office for a few minutes before lunch. When Sam arrived, Kinsey was in the middle of the endless flow of paperwork that passed by his desk. 

"Mr. President?" she asked, bringing his attention to her.

Kinsey looked up, "Ah, yes, Ms. Carter. I wanted to talk to you about something."

"What?"

"As you know, your resignation from the military came through two months ago, but you never answered General Hammond's request for you to head the science department at the SGC." Kinsey motioned for Sam to sit on one of the sofas in the office, while he sat on the other.

Sam looked down at her hands, "Sir, I don't think…would it affect any relationship I might have with Colonel O'Neill?"

It was all Kinsey could do not to smile at that. So that's why she hadn't given Hammond an answer? She thought she'd have to give up her relationship with Jack? "No, Doctor, it wouldn't affect your relationship with Colonel O'Neill in any way. We need you, Sam. Ever since McKay lost it, there's been no one. Not to mention his work was mediocre at best compared to yours."

After a few seconds of contemplative silence Sam nodded. "I'll take the job."

"Good. I was hoping you'd say that."

* * *

Sam had just gotten out of the shower before starting to get dressed for the evening when there was a knock on her door. She opened it to find Jack on the other side, _not_ dressed in his suit like he should have been. 

"Jack! I thought you were getting dressed?" Sam said, opening the door wider so he could enter the room. She instinctively pulled the robe tighter around her naked body, waiting for him to say something.

"I…I wanted to see what you were wearing," Jack said, looking down like a little boy caught with his hand in the cookie jar. "Sorry."

Sam tried to glare at him, but he just looked so _cute_ she couldn't. "I'm wearing a _dress_, Jack. You've seen me in those before, remember?"

"Yeah, but not one like the one I'm sure you're going to be wearing," Jack said in a manner that made no sense at all and left Sam laughing at his hopeful expression. "What? What'd I do?"

Sam walked closer to Jack and kissed him passionately. When she finally pulled back, he groaned in frustration, but Sam only smiled; "If you go now and get dressed for the ball, when it's over you can help me get _out_ of my dress tonight."

Jack growled again in frustration and kissed her again, "I'm going to take you up on that, _Dr_. Carter."

"Oh, I hope you do, _Colonel_ O'Neill."

* * *

Natasha Bedingfield was the first performer up for the night, and she had to admit that it was rather scary to be singing for a room full of the President's closest friends. She'd been asked to sing a few songs, but most importantly (apparently) were that she start the night off with 'Unwritten' and her other famous tune 'Frogs and Princes'. 

With a nod to the band behind her, she began to sing 'Unwritten', letting the words flow through her. All of the performers had been gathered together by the president a few minutes before to hear a rather odd request. Apparently all of them were to do some love song that would 'help' a man propose to his girlfriend. She'd never known that the president was a romantic, but wonders never cease.

There was one couple in the sea of dancers that caught her attention as she sang 'Frogs and Princes'. The woman was dressed in a black mermaid style gown that fit her perfectly, while the man was dressed in a white suit with a black shirt and tie on. They looked so perfect together, dancing the night away in each other's arms. Part of her was certain this was the couple the president was talking about.

"Daniel Jackson, I do not see the purpose of this event," Teal'c said as a waiter walked by them with a tray of crab puffs. The Jaffa grabbed one and popped it into his mouth, relishing the taste.

"It's a birthday party, Teal'c. Like the one Jack threw for you last year."

Teal'c eyed a group of women leering at him and his two teammates a short distance away, "This does not appear to be remotely similar to the event O'Neill executed for my day of birth some months ago, Daniel Jackson."

"Lighten up, T," Ferretti said with a grin. "Really this thing is just a nice setting for Jack to propose to Sam in, don't you think Danny boy?"

Daniel nodded, "Don't call me Danny-boy, Ferretti. This is the perfect setting for Jack to pop the question. Did you see how monopolizing he's been of Sam's time since the music started?"

"Do you believe there will be a vocal and instrumental ensemble to which O'Neill with inquire Samantha Carter, Daniel Jackson?"

"It's popping the question, Teal'c. And, yes, I do think he's going to propose in the middle of a song."

The three men stood there, watching their two friends dance to one song after another before Ferretti finally broke the silence, "It's been so different to have Sam back after she's been gone for so long. Ya know what I mean?"

"Indeed."

"Yeah. It's like…Jack's _alive_ again. The computers are running smoothly. No more McKay to worry about. All's right in the world."

"Indeed."

A group of three women approached them. The boldest, about twenty with dark brown hair and light green eyes asked, "So, how do you guys know the president?"

Ferretti looked at Daniel and Teal'c before answering, "We work for him."

"Really? That's nice. I'm Mia Thompson. These are my sisters, Charlotte and Naomi. What's you're name?"

"I'm Lou Ferretti, this is Daniel Jackson and the big guy's Murray."

Naomi smiled slightly, "Nothing else, just 'Murray'?"

"Indeed," Teal'c said, quirking one eyebrow up to illustrate his distain for the question and desire to leave. "Forgive me," he said with a slight bow and tip of the top hat he wore to cover up his symbol, "I have an urgent matter I need to discuss with Oprah."

"_The_ Oprah?" Mia asked, a little shocked that they knew the talk show host.

Teal'c's mouth formed a slight smirk, "No."

* * *

A/N: I just HAD to add the bit about Oprah (A.K.A. Ishta, just in case you guys were confused). Please review! It'd make me REALLY happy. And, as you all should know by now, a happy me is a me who will update. 


	25. Chapter 25

A/N: Ah, screw it! Here's the end. I'm just an impatient...person. But that's a good thing for you...very bad for my review stats. Some of you have asked why I care so much about reviews and this is my answer: I write this stuff to post, I post for people to read and review. With no reviews, why would I write?

* * *

When Billy Joel mounted the stage, Jack knew that very soon he'd start to sing the song he most wanted Sam to hear within his arms. Jack caught eye contact with the singer and nodded, letting him know what the first song should be. 

Billy Joel smirked at the man in the middle of the crowd: so _that_ was the couple the president had spoken of? Interesting. He looked at the woman near to the older man and his smirk grew. He knew that he'd do almost anything to be with a woman like that, too.

He readjusted the microphone on the piano and said, "Good evening, folks. First off, happy birthday, Mr. President. This first song was a request the president made to help along a special gentleman in the room tonight. Tell her."

As the first cords of his hit 'Shameless' came onto the air, Jack smirked and asked Sam, "Care to dance?"

Sam smiled nervously. This obviously wasn't going to be like the numerous dances they'd shared before. Jack was up to something.

_Well I'm shameless when it comes to loving you  
I'd do anything you want me to  
I'd do anything at all_

_And I'm standing here for all the world to see  
There ain't that much left of me  
That has very far to fall_

_You know I'm not a man who has ever been  
Insecure about the world I've been living in  
I don't break easy, I have my pride  
But if you need to be satisfied_

_I'm shameless, baby I don't have a prayer  
Anytime I see you standing there  
I go down upon my knees   
_

Sam felt her heart stop as Jack got down on one knee and pulled out a box from his pocket. The song continued in the background, providing the perfect setting for what she now knew was coming.

_And I'm changing, I swore I'd never compromise  
But you convinced me otherwise  
I'll do anything you please_

_You see in all my life I've never found  
What I couldn't resist, what I couldn't turn down  
I could walk away from anyone I ever knew  
But I can't walk away from you_

_I have never let anything have this much control over me  
Cause I worked too hard to call me life my own  
Yes I made myself a world and it worked so perfectly  
But it's your world now, I can't refuse  
I never had so much to lose  
I'm shameless...shameless  
_

Her eyes went wide as Jack opened the box to reveal a beautiful ring with a solitaire cut diamond flanked by two much smaller princess cut sapphires. "Marry me?" he whispered, "Make me the happiest man in the universe and be my wife."

Sam waited, not knowing what to say, her eyes just staring in wide wonder at the man kneeling before her with such a wonderful offering. She didn't notice the crowd that had stopped dancing to watch for her response. Samantha was only brought out of her stupor when Billy Joel sang (rather loudly) the last few lines of the song:

_I'm shameless, shameless as a man can be  
You can make a total fool of me  
I just wanted you to know_

_I am shameless  
Shameless...  
Shameless..._

A small smile appeared on Sam's face as she nodded empathetically, allowing Jack to take the ring out of the box and place it on her eagerly awaiting finger. His heart had stopped beating as he had waited for a response, but now that she had said yes, both of them were on cloud nine.

When Green Day mounted the stage a short time later, they knew exactly what song they were going to open up with. From what they had learned from the president's family and the proposal earlier, all three of them unanimously decided on one of their hits to describe the lucky woman, Dr. Carter: 'She's a Rebel'.

_She's a rebel  
She's a saint  
She's assault of the earth  
And she's dangerous  
She's a rebel  
Vigilante  
Missing link on the brink  
Of destruction  
From Chicago to Toronto  
She's the one that they  
Call 'ol whatsername  
She's the symbol  
Of resistance  
And she's holding on my  
Heart like a hand grenade  
_

Sam burst out laughing as the song continued, much to Jack' amusement. It just fit her so _well_. It wasn't that she liked to think of herself like that, but what else could it be? Sam was so similar to that song it was almost scary!

She shot a humorous look at the singer and he winked conspicuously at her, letting her know that she had been the inspiration for singing the song. As the band continued with a slower song, Sam grabbed hold of Jack and made him dance with her, knowing that the next day she would regret her choice of shoes (no matter how perfect they were with that dress and how much fun she knew Jack would have with them later).

The euphoria lasted the rest of the night, as the couple danced away half of it in each other's arms, hardly listening to the songs that most of the singers sang. For a few songs, the couple was forced to suffer the congratulations of many people and politicians they didn't know.

When President Kinsey came up to them with his wife, Jack shook his hand, "Thanks for the help, Mr. President. I'm not sure I could have pulled it off without your help."

"Don't mention it, Jack."

Sam turned to Jack with an unreadable expression on her face, "You asked the president to help you propose to me? How many people knew about this before me?"

Jack counted in his head: there had been Hammond, Daniel, Ferretti, Teal'c, Jacob/Selmak (did they count as one or two?), Kinsey, Mrs. Kinsey, all the performers for tonight, the guy he bought the ring from…the list went on and on.

"I'm guessing probably about the entire city of Colorado Springs, and numerous other people who live out of town," he said with a hesitant smile.

Sam playfully slapped him, "As long as I'm not the _last_ to know."

* * *

After the ball was over, Sam and Jack bid goodnight to the Kinsey's and the other three members of SG-1 before subtly running out of the ballroom to Sam's bedroom. 

When the couple was occupied in their bedroom, the performers of the night met with the group still up and talking. "Nice work, Billy," Kinsey said with a smile. "Great idea to start with that song."

The man shrugged, "I don't think it was as great as what these three did when they came on with 'She's a Rebel'. It was kinda funny to watch their reactions."

Natasha nodded in agreement, "I thought it was very sweet of you to use your birthday as an opportunity for Colonel O'Neill to propose to her, Mr. President."

Daniel and Ferretti grinned at the president responded, "Well, my dear, if you knew everything those two have gone through to get to where they are now, I have no doubt you would have done the same."

"It's a fairy tale, isn't it?" she asked the other three men who'd come with the happy couple to D.C.

Daniel nodded, "The closest thing to a fairy tale we can get in these days."

The group grew quiet as those who knew Sam and Jack reflected on their relationship. "They've had so many close calls…" Daniel said, shaking his head somberly.

"It is a miracle they are both still alive," Teal'c added, a hint of awe in his voice only noticed by his two teammates.

Ferretti smirked, "It's all about survival."

And it really was. When it really mattered, Jack had let Sam go for survival. Sam had pulled back from the brink of…many dark things so he could survive. The two needed each other to survive, and survival was a part of them.

Fin

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A/N: If you guys want the lyrics to any of the songs I use, just PM me or tell me in a review. Please review! Please? Oh, and if you want a sequel, you're going to have to tell me THAT, too. But if you do, be warned that it may be some months before it gets up here.  



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